Plant record
Gomphrena
Gomphrena globosa
Gomphrena is patient little architecture. It waits for heat, then gives clean color for weeks.
Garden timing
Start indoors 5 to 8 weeks before last frost; warmth matters.
Transplant once nights are reliably warm.
Plant intelligence
Use one square once heat is reliable; it behaves better than many summer flowers in tight grids.
cut flowerpollinatorcontainer
Lifecycle: annual
Habit: compact branching heat-lover
Height: 18-36 inches
Spread: 12-18 inches
Germination: 7-14 days
Sow depth: 0.125 inches
Bloom: summer, fall
Attracts: bees, butterflies
Record score
89/100deep plant record
Taxonomy confidence94Gomphrena globosa in Amaranthaceae; 2 cached source references.
Square-foot usefulness861 per square with none support.
Timing and care depth922 planting windows, 65F minimum soil, 2 cautions.
Species and variety drill-down882 variety or cultivar options attached.
Annual flower intelligence90moderate pollinator value.
Source readiness82Ready for 4 external lookup paths.
Species identity
This record is anchored to a stable botanical name, then adjusted for square-foot garden decisions.
ScientificGomphrena globosaFamilyAmaranthaceaeLookup namesGomphrena, Gomphrena globosa, globe amaranth
Garden decision matrix
Square-foot fit1 per square
Season behaviorheat-loving
Care loadlow water
Bed ecosystem rolecut flower, pollinator
Variety depth2 options
Species and variety notes
Classic globe types stay tidy; taller fireworks types need more height planning.
QISseries
84small-bed fit
A dependable cutting series for small-space stems.
Best use: cut and garden display. Tradeoff: wait for real warmth before judging performance.
cut flower, uniform, many colors85-100 days24-30 inches tallFireworkscultivar
68small-bed fit
Beautiful and bee-friendly, but not as compact as standard globe types.
Best use: cut and garden display. Tradeoff: needs edge placement or support so it does not shade smaller crops.
tall, airy, pollinator90-105 days36-48 inches tallCompanions
pepper, basil, zinnia, celosia
Cautions
Slow until real heat arrives.
Do not overwater young plants.
External enrichment
Cached name: Gomphrena globosa. Optional lookups can compare GBIF, iNaturalist, Perenual, and Trefle without changing the reviewed garden record.
Open enrichment JSONData layers
FVF reviewed cachecachedSpacing, timing, variety, companion, and FVF notes used by the planner.
GBIF and iNaturalistlive no-keyNo-key taxonomy, common-name, and community context checks through the enrichment route.
USDA PLANTS downloadsreferencePeriodic identity, distribution, native status, and conservation reference layer.
Perenual or Trefleoptional keyOptional species images, care data, cultivar/synonym cleanup, then cache only reviewed fields.
API source score
Perenual API88/100optional key: Flower and ornamental drill-down, plant photos, care flags, toxicity, bloom data. Limit: Requires an API key and plan-aware caching, so it should enrich records without blocking the app.
Trefle API84/100optional key: Scientific names, subspecies, varieties, hybrids, synonyms, and broader botanical cleanup. Limit: Requires a token and should be treated as a reviewed import layer, not a live page dependency.
USDA PLANTS downloads82/100download cache: Standard names, plant symbols, distribution, native status, and conservation flags. Limit: Best consumed as periodic downloaded data instead of one-off runtime requests.
GBIF Species API78/100live public: Accepted scientific names, synonyms, family/genus cleanup, and occurrence context. Limit: Not a gardening advice source; pair it with local square-foot growing data.
iNaturalist taxa API72/100live public: Common-name discovery, taxon IDs, and regional biodiversity context. Limit: Observation data is not the same thing as garden suitability or crop timing.
USDA PLANTS Database
Plant identity, taxonomy, nativity, and conservation flags.
Source referenceGBIF Species API
Accepted scientific names, taxonomy matching, and occurrence context.
Source reference