Flower, Hopi Red Dye Amaranth (organic)

A commanding presence in the garden, this heirloom amaranth grows 4½-6′ tall with a showy display of dark purple-green leaves, solid purple stems, and long, draping deep purple-red inflorescences. Used for dye or as an ornamental, it comes to Seed Savers Exchange through Native Seeds/SEARCH, which notes this variety was collected in the lower area of Moenkopi, Arizona. The Hopi people make a natural scarlet food dye from the flower bracts to color piki bread. It flowers in mid-to-late-June at our Heritage Farm headquarters in northeast Iowa.

Instructions – Sow seeds indoors just beneath the surface of the soil. Plant out into average well-drained soil after the danger of frost has passed. Good cutting flower, fresh or dried.