Celosia

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

, Spider mites

Spider mites

Tetranychidae

Fine pale stippling in hot, dusty, dry weather. Visible webbing means you are already late.

.

Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Lacewings

Lacewings

Chrysopidae

Golden-eyed adults that mostly drink; larvae that hunt like small alligators.

, Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

, Predatory mites

Predatory mites

Phytoseiidae

Too small to see without a hand lens, and the main thing holding spider mites down.

, Minute pirate bugs

Minute pirate bugs

Anthocoridae

Two to three millimetres, and both stages hunt — thrips and spider mites, thirty a day.

to keep them in check — plant African MarigoldGood, French MarigoldGood and CosmosGood nearby.

Growing from seed

Start Celosia indoors about 6 weeks before your last frost, keeping seeds in warm soil (around 20–25 °C). Seeds usually come up in around 10 days. Move seedlings out once the danger of frost has passed, in full sun, spaced about 25 cm apart. Expect the first blooms in roughly 70 days.

Celosia seed rarely stays viable beyond 3 years — track what's still worth sowing.

Companion Planting

• 
  Allard's Lavender
  

  Allard's LavenderGreat pair

  • ❧Allard's Lavender attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids that attack Celosia
  • ❧Celosia draws Bees and Butterflies that improve pollination for both
  • ❧Allard's Lavender roots deep while Celosia feeds near the surface — no competition
• 
  Chaytor's Lavender
  

  Chaytor's LavenderGreat pair

  • ❧Chaytor's Lavender attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids that attack Celosia
  • ❧Celosia draws Bees and Butterflies that improve pollination for both
  • ❧Chaytor's Lavender roots deep while Celosia feeds near the surface — no competition
• 
  Fernleaf Lavender
  

  Fernleaf LavenderGreat pair

  • ❧Fernleaf Lavender attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids that attack Celosia
  • ❧Celosia draws Bees and Butterflies that improve pollination for both
  • ❧Fernleaf Lavender roots deep while Celosia feeds near the surface — no competition

How to grow Celosia

1. Sow6 weeks before frost
2. Germinates10 days
3. Space25 cm apart
4. GrowFull sun
5. Harvest~70 days

Water: Medium · Height: 60 cm · Soil: Well-draining, fertile, warm — dislikes cold