Pemberton also noted that small “seed-feeding birds find the tiny amaranth seeds irresistible and are attracted to the plants in small flocks.” Individual flower clusters also have a long duration of effectiveness as it is the straw textured colored bracts that constitute the showy portions of the flowers, lasting long after the tiny reproductive portions of the flowers have senesced,” Pemberton said. “The button, cylindrical cones, or sparkler-shaped flowers offer season-long color from late spring to frost. “Hybridization and selection in the closely related Rio Grande globe amaranth (Gomphrena haageana), a Texas native, has added strawberry red to orange flowers to the mix,” Pemberton wrote in the Superstar board’s official description. The new varieties are now available ranging in height from 6 inches to 4 feet, and rich purples and pinks have been added to the flower colors that were historically limited to light purple or white. “There are a lot of things that just didn’t make it through the heat but these plants did very well.” “They were watered, but there are a lot of things that just didn’t make it through despite getting some supplemental water,” Pemberton said. By 2011, the number of entries had grown to more than 400, and there were 17 globe amaranth varieties among them, he said. Pemberton started testing bedding plants and ornamentals in 1994 under East Texas conditions with about 100 entries. “Now there’s science-based proof based on performance tests during the 2011 heat wave.” It’s always been known that globe amaranths were very heat tolerant, but that knowledge was largely anecdotal from gardeners observing the plant’s behavior in gardens, Pemberton said. Superstars must also be easy to propagate, which should ensure the plants are not only widely available throughout Texas but also are reasonably priced. To be designated a Superstar, the plant must not just be beautiful but also perform well for consumers and growers throughout Texas. Texas Superstar plants undergo extensive tests at Overton, Lubbock, San Antonio and College Station by AgriLife Research and Texas AgriLife Extension Service horticulturists, Pemberton said. “Now we not only have more colors but varieties of gomphrena that are of different heights. “The new varieties were developed at a really important time because we recently experienced a lot of record heat and drought, and this plant is tolerant to that,” he said. As a result of that attention, there is a “broader color pallet,” various heights and other qualities. Brent Pemberton, AgriLife Research horticulturist and chair of the Texas Superstar executive board. Globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa), also known as bachelor buttons, are a garden mainstay that has received renewed attention from industrious plant breeders, said Dr. (Texas AgriLife Research photo by Robert Burns)COLLEGE STATION – The summer of 2011, with its record-setting high temperatures, proved just how heat tolerant globe amaranth, a new Texas Superstar, actually is, said a Texas AgriLife Research horticulturist. All older gomphrena varieties and some new ones were named Texas Superstars for 2012. "Fireworks" is a new globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa) variety that showed off its heat and drought tolerance in trials at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center in 2011.
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