Most globe amaranths stay low and compact, but Fireworks reaches three to four feet tall, which changes how you use it in the garden. At that height it belongs at the back of a border or in a cutting garden, where its long stems — the same quality that makes it excellent for both fresh and dried arrangements — can be properly appreciated. The flower heads are unmistakable: hot pink bracts tipped with yellow, the combination that prompted the name. They are produced in quantity from early summer onward and need no deadheading to keep coming, a quality that distinguishes this cultivar from many showier-looking alternatives.

Fireworks is among the more forgiving annuals in cultivation. It tolerates a wide range of soils, laughs at heat, and once established asks for very little water. Pest and disease problems are rare. In warmer climates, zones 10 and above, it may behave as a short-lived perennial; elsewhere treat it as the annual it is and direct sow or transplant after the last frost. Butterflies find it reliably attractive through the season, and the dried flower heads retain their vivid two-tone color better than almost any other annual in the cutting garden.