Amaranthus tricolor seed | Joseph’s Coat
LATIN NAME: Amaranthus tricolor COMMON NAME: Joseph’s Coat
Botanical Profile
Grown here chiefly for its spectacular foliage rather than as a vegetable, this Asian native produces some of the most vividly coloured leaves of any annual, with individual plants displaying dramatic combinations of red, yellow, green and bronze, often within a single leaf, a trait that gives the ornamental strain its common name Joseph’s Coat. Selected ornamental cultivars maximise this striking multi-coloured effect far more intensely than the plainer green forms grown mainly as a leafy vegetable.
Science & Conservation
Ornamental Amaranthus tricolor cultivars have been extensively selected and bred specifically for maximum leaf colour intensity and pattern complexity, work that has drawn plant pigment researchers interested in the betalain and anthocyanin compounds responsible for the plant’s vivid reds and yellows, since amaranths are among the relatively few plant families that produce betalains rather than the more common anthocyanin pigments found in most colourful garden plants. This distinctive pigment chemistry makes ornamental amaranth a useful subject for comparative plant pigment biosynthesis research.
Landscape & Practical Uses
Ornamental Joseph’s Coat amaranth is grown purely for dramatic garden impact, its vividly multi-coloured foliage providing months of intense colour in borders and containers without needing to wait for flowers, since the leaves themselves carry the display. The same species, in its plainer green-leaved forms, is also grown as a nutritious edible vegetable, discussed further on our vegetable amaranth listing, giving the species a genuine dual identity between ornamental and culinary gardening.
Growing From Seed
Sow the fine seed onto the surface of a loose, well-drained mix without covering it deeply, since light supports germination, and keep the medium consistently warm and moist. Full sun brings out the most intense leaf colouration in ornamental forms, so avoid shaded positions if a vivid, saturated colour display is the goal.
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Explore other seeds in this collection: Amaranthus viridis (Slender Amaranth, Green Amaranth), Amentotaxus argotaenia (Catkin Yew), Fragaria virginiana (Virginia Strawberry), Amaranthus blitum (Purple Amaranth, Livid Amaranth).