Whether you garden in the ground, in raised beds, on the windowsill, or anywhere else, amaranth is a great addition or re-addition to your plant family. Read on for simple, straightforward specifics about growing amaranth.
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Family | Container Size | Good Companions | Bad Companions | Soil Conditions | Germination | Sun | Water | Temperature Range | Height | Lifespan | Reproduction | Yield Per Plant | Ingestibility | Further Reading
What Family Does Amaranth Belong To?
Amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) belongs to the Amaranthaceae family, also known as the amaranth family.
Some of its relatives include spinach, chard, and lambsquarter.
What Size Container Should I Use for Growing Amaranth?
The minimum container depth recommended for amaranth is 6 inches.
Learn more in our Choosing the Right Planter for Your Container Garden article here.
What Are Good Companion Plants for Amaranth?
Some of amaranth's best companions are as follows:
- Cucumber, which can provide a great natural trellis for it
- Corn
- Carrot
- Beans such as green beans, especially pole beans
- Tomato
- Potato
- Peppers like bell pepper and jalapeño
- Eggplant
- Peas
- Marigold
- Purslane
What Are Bad Companion Plants for Amaranth?
Amaranth is not compatible with every plant. Some things to avoid planting with amaranth are as follows:
For more information on why not to plant amaranth with spinach and quinoa, see the Bad Companions section of the Growing Spinach article here. Planting amaranth with either of these fellow Amaranthaceae family members can lead to cross-pollination that affects amaranth's flavor and offspring.
What Soil Conditions Does Amaranth Need?
Amaranth prefers dry, well-draining soil with average to rich fertility and equal amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus.
How Long Does Amaranth Take to Germinate?
Amaranth takes 4-10 days to germinate at a temperature of 50-85°F.
How Much Sun Does Amaranth Need?
In most regions, amaranth needs full sun, meaning 6 hours or more of sun per day. See our article on full sun here.
Sun recommendations can vary by region. Amaranth grown in hot areas or in warmer conditions than the ideal temperature range noted below generally needs some shade. Dappled shade can be a particularly good match for amaranth grown in hot climates or seasons.
How Much Water Does Amaranth Need?
Amaranth is an extremely drought-tolerant plant that prefers dry conditions. It can be watered once per week during drought conditions. Otherwise, it does not usually need regular watering.
What Is the Ideal Temperature Range for Growing Amaranth?
Amaranth grows fastest in temperatures of 70-85°F.
This is its ideal temperature range. Although it will grow in temperatures both cooler and warmer than this range, the growth could be slower or even stunted.
Minimum and maximum temperatures will vary by variety. Some amaranth varieties are bred for late fall harvests and others for warmer climates.
In general, amaranth tolerates and even prefers heat much more than its cousins, spinach and chard. Although its growth may be slower in temperatures above 85°F, many varieties can tolerate temperatures up to 110°F, especially if they receive some shade, as noted in the sun conditions section above.
But as a warm-weather plant, amaranth does not tolerate cold as well as its cousins. Some varieties are hardy to about 50-55°F, while others may survive down to around 40°F.
How Tall Does Amaranth Get?
The average height of amaranth is 4-6 feet. However, some varieties can grow up to 8 feet tall.
Is Amaranth Annual, Biennial, or Perennial?
Some amaranth varieties are annual, meaning that they start and end their lives in the same year.
Others are perennial, meaning that they live for longer than a couple years.
What we know as amaranth actually refers to the entire Amaranthus genus, which explains the variety in lifespans across the different species and varieties of this genus.
How Does Amaranth Reproduce?
Amaranth reproduces by seed. The grains we eat are actually the seeds of the plant.
How Much Amaranth is Produced Per Plant?
For amaranth, how much is produced per plant (also called the yield) largely depends on the type of amaranth, the variety, and the size of the plant.
Most amaranth plants produce 1-6 ounces of seed per plant.
They also produce an average of 0.5 pounds of leaves per plant.
Can Amaranth Be Ingested?
Amaranth seeds and leaves are edible.
Amaranth leaves and seeds have nervine and carminative properties and can be used in herbal preparations. The most common preparations are tea, broths, and tinctures. A herb:solvent weight ratio of 1:2 at 50% alcohol is suggested for an amaranth seed tincture.
Like most other Amaranthaceae family plants, amaranth leaves and seeds are high in oxalic acid. Those who are sensitive to oxalates and oxalic acid may want to avoid or limit their intake of amaranth. Oxalates are reduced by cooking or other heating methods.
There are no other known safety concerns associated with ingesting amaranth leaves or seeds.
Further Reading
This article is intended as a quick-reference guide for gardeners. Consult your seed packet or seed catalog for variety-specific information.
When you have a bumper crop of amaranth rolling in, you may not have enough time for long, complicated recipes or many-step preservation procedures. Check out my article on quick, simple uses for amaranth here!
Amaranth is featured in these Plant to Plate articles: