meemersmom

Full name of this one is celosia argentea -- common name is Cockscomb -- (the taller variety pictured here is is known as 'cristata') is a tropical that is a prolific self-sowing annual that will work in almost any zone if started indoors and not put out until all chance of frost has passed. I can grow them here in Buffalo, so you should be able to do the same in Elmira. They will bloom from early to mid-July, and hard frost will kill them off. I plant almost exclusively perennials -- this is one of the few annuals I make room for.