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Cosmos are annual flowers with brightly colored, daisy-like flowers perched on long, slender stalks. They bloom from summer to fall and attract birds, bees and butterflies to your garden. They are easy to grow from seed and will even survive in poor soil conditions! Here’s how to farm the cosmos.
About cosmos
Cosmos produces 3- to 5-inch daisy-like flowers in a variety of colors including pink, orange, red and yellow, white, and maroon. Their flower heads can be bowl-shaped or open-cupped. These beautiful plants can reach a height of 6 feet.
Cosmos grow in both beds and containers – and they make great cut flowers too!
PLANTING
The soil should be well-drained, but other than that, Cosmos don’t require any special soil preparation. In fact, they don’t like too rich soil, as rich soil encourages foliage at the expense of flowers. Cosmos are also tolerant of most soil pH levels, but grow best in neutral to alkaline soil (pH of 7.0-7.5).
Cosmos tolerates warm, dry weather very well. They are even drought tolerant.
When to plant Cosmos
Sow seeds directly outdoors once danger of frost has passed.
Alternatively, sow the seeds indoors in trays or pots with a good seed starting mix 4 to 6 weeks before your last spring frost date. Move them to 5 inch pots once they are 3 or 4 inches tall.
Young plants (grafts) can be planted outdoors once the threat of frost has passed.
How to plant cosmos
Sow the seeds only lightly – no more than 1/4 inch deep.
Thin to 12-18 inches apart when the seedlings are a few inches tall. Depending on the strain, Cosmos can grow anywhere from 18 to 60 inches tall, so plan accordingly.
If you are growing Cosmos from seed, remember that it takes around 7 weeks for her to flower for the first time. After that, however, your flowers should continue blooming until the first fall frost.
If you let the spiky brown seed heads blow away in the fall, cosmos are likely to self-seed in your garden.
Let the spiky brown seed heads blow where they will, and you might find your garden full of home-sown cosmos flowers.
Let the spiky brown seed heads blow where they will, and you might find your garden full of home-sown cosmos flowers.
GROWING
To prolong flowering, dead plants (cut off dead/wilted flowers). This speeds up bud development and encourages branching.
Since some of these plants can grow very large, it may be necessary to stake them out. Provide them shelter from high winds, encourage balanced branching by pinching (aka pruning) central shoots or stem tips, or pinning. Growing along a fence can also provide the support you need.
Water regularly until plants are established or when it is unusually dry. Make sure you don’t overwater the cosmos; Overwatering and overfeeding can result in plants with fewer flowers. Cosmos tolerates dry soil, even in a hot, dry, sun-kissed location.
Cosmos beds can become weedy due to the fact that they self-seed. So remember to remove flowers before they set seed or thin out seedlings in spring.
Aside from needing at least half a day of sunshine, cosmos also seem to thrive on neglect.
RECOMMENDED VARIETIES
‘Picotee’ has pretty white flowers with a crimson border around the rim (some are also speckled with crimson).
‘Sea Shells’ have white, pink or red tubular petals.
‘Purity’ is a beautiful classic white flower that looks spectacular when grown against dark brown ‘Niger’ hollyhock or purple basil.
“Cosmos Sonata Series” goes particularly well with Bells of Ireland.
The ‘Chocolate’ cosmos gives a special note to a white Campanula, Dianthus or ‘Moonshine’ Achillea.
Tall cosmos are best suited to the back of the garden, filling in mixed borders between perennials like foxgloves, phlox, delphiniums and daisies, and annuals like poppies, cleome and asters.
Dwarf cosmos, like the Ladybird series, make great companions for zinnias, johnny jump-ups, pansies, alchemilla, or dark blue morning glory.
