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Gomphrena decumbens 'Little Grapes' |
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| | Newly purchased plant |
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| | Perky little flowers, November |
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| | Fading flowers in early January |
| Common name |
globe amaranth; airy bachelor's buttons |
| Family |
amaranthaceae |
| Life cycle |
perennial (Z8b-11)  |
| Flowers |
purple |
| Size |
36" |
| Light |
sun-part shade |
Tiny bright-purple flowers by the hundreds, carried on a mess of wiry stems above mid-green pointy-tipped leaves. Reports of its hardiness vary from zone 8 to zone 9b; since it has reportedly lived for many years in a garden right around here, where the harshest winters dip to zone 8, I have high hopes of it surviving for me, too. I planted ours in May, and waited for a long time for flowers to appear – it didn't happen until mid-Autumn, and the event escaped my camera. So for now, you get a photo of the blooms past their prime, in early winter. By that time, the plant had already come through a few early-season frosts, without damage, but the worst was yet to come, in the form of record-breaking winter storm Uri in February 2021. Our dear plant seemed definitely dead after that, with no sign of life at all, until suddenly, in early May, there were some new leaves. It will be slow to re-establish, but I think we can say it's root-hardy to at least zone 8b.
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| | New growth in May after megafreeze |
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In our garden, this plant grows in the following area: right fence border About my plant portraits
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