Illustration
Dreadlocks
Amaranthus caudatus 'Dreadlocks'
Dreadlocks blooms from July through September.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Dreadlocks
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 9–11. Expect it to reach about 3.5 ft tall and 1.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 1 year (checked).
What was checked
Fifteen fields were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it, with every unsettled point written down and decided: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, soil, diseases, pests, toxicity, the plant's own names, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Dreadlocks
Wait until all danger of frost has passed, then plant out Dreadlocks into warm soil; in most zones that means late spring. Planted then, it flowers from July to September.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 9, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 9 in February. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Dreadlocks get?
3.5 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult1.5 ftwideSee Dreadlocks in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Dreadlocks
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Dreadlocks about 1.5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Dreadlocks to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Dreadlocks' height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, years to mature size, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 10 published sources on August 23, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- selectseeds.comSelect Seedsheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, years to mature size, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderhardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, years to mature size, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity
- NC State ExtensionPlant Toolboxhardiness zones, water, bloom months and color, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity
- rareseeds.comBaker Creek Heirloom Seedsheight, sun, bloom months and color, years to mature size, trait tags and toxicity
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societysun, water, bloom months and color, soil, diseases and pests
- harrisseeds.comHarris Seedsheight, spread, bloom months and color and years to mature size
- Swallowtail Garden Seedsheight, water and bloom months and color
- kitchengardenseeds.comJohn Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seedsheight and bloom months and color
- navigate.botanicgardens.orgDenver Botanic Gardens Gardens Navigatorsun and bloom months and color
- ipm.missouri.eduUniversity of Missouri Extension, Missouri Environment and Gardentoxicity
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Good to know about Dreadlocks
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Safety
Non-toxic to pets, but grazing livestock is the exception: heavy eating of the leaves accumulates nitrate and can cause kidney failure in cattle, sheep, and pigs. per ASPCA and University of Arizona
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.