{"id":11737,"date":"2011-11-24T01:32:47","date_gmt":"2011-11-24T08:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/?p=11737"},"modified":"2011-11-29T04:49:44","modified_gmt":"2011-11-29T11:49:44","slug":"11737","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/flowers\/11737\/","title":{"rendered":"Help Growing Cosmos"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a title=\"Cosmos by brianpettinger, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/hortoris\/3954688155\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3517\/3954688155_8eb6ae5f90.jpg\" alt=\"Cosmos\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Cosmos bipinnatus or the Mexican aster is a fine half-hardy annual to grow in any garden. The tall frothy stems produce many single dahlia like flowers in bright colours ranging from white to carmine<\/p>\n<h2>Description of Cosmos<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The single flowers have 8 petals that open wide to reveal a ray or center disc of florets and yellow stamen.<\/li>\n<li>Cosmos flowers from July until October.<\/li>\n<li>Plants vary in height from 24-48in dependent on variety.<\/li>\n<li>Excellent for cutting and make very attractive pot plants for summer flowering in a cold greenhouse.<\/li>\n<li>Cosmos has single dahlia-like blooms that are 3in or more across.<\/li>\n<li>The leaves are simple, pinnate, or bipinnate, and arranged in opposite pairs.<\/li>\n<li>The plants have a light airy see through structure<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Cultivation Tips for Cosmos<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Easy to grow from seed or buy as ready grown plants.<\/li>\n<li>Most Cosmos will self seed if left to set and distribute seed.<\/li>\n<li>Sow 3mm (1\/8in) deep in spring at 21 -24C (70-75F) in a good seed compost. Keep soil damp but not wet, sealing in a polythene bag after sowing is helpful.<\/li>\n<li>Germination usually takes 5-10 days. When seedlings are large enough to handle, transplant and grow on in cooler conditions.<\/li>\n<li>Gradually acclimatise to outdoor conditions for 10-15 days before planting out after all risk of frost, 60cm (24in) apart in a sunny spot on light well drained soil.<\/li>\n<li>Cosmos like well-drained but light yet moist soil.<\/li>\n<li>Can be grown as pot plants in cool well ventilated areas with plenty of light.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8216;<a href=\"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/New-Picture-7.bmp\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11738\" title=\"Pink Cosmos\" src=\"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/New-Picture-7.bmp\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Special Growing Tips for Cosmos<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Can get blown about because of their height and delicate foliage so might need staking, depending on position.<\/li>\n<li>They will attract Goldfinches and butterflies into your garden<\/li>\n<li>Cosmos flower again and again after dead heading and some new varieties drop the old flowers to save you this trouble.<\/li>\n<li>When flowering, the plant can become top heavy. Grow Cosmos in groups so that the bi-pinnate leaves interlock and supports one another.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Varieties, Species and Types of Cosmos<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Cosmos sulphureus &#8216;Brightness Mixed&#8217; One of the most free-flowering yellow and orange Cosmos of this type. Dwarf and bushy plants upto 2 feet high<\/li>\n<li>Cosmos bipinnatus Sensationor with purple pink and white flowers.<\/li>\n<li>Cosmos bipinnatus &#8216;Double Click Snow Puff&#8217; has spectacular double, white, pom-pom flowers with a delicate hint of blushed pink of<\/li>\n<li>The Sonata Series, AGM, is an award- winning strain, producing compact plants with large red, rose, pink and white flowers, available as a mixture or in single colours.<\/li>\n<li>Cosmos atrosanguineus <em>aka Bidens atrosanguinea<\/em> is the in demand Chocolate Cosmos. These plants are virtually perennial and not very hardy so need protection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Horticulture Sources and Advice<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<ul>\n<li>You can often obtain seeds or plants from our mail order company of choice <a href=\"http:\/\/www.awin1.com\/cread.php?awinmid=2283&amp;awinaffid=81944&amp;clickref=&amp;p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thompson-morgan.com\/plants1\/search.html?section=all&amp;search=cosmos\">Thompson &amp; Morgan<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Cosmos are originally from Mexico and flourishing in warm sun and poor soils.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/flowers\/growing-cosmos-great-easy-annuals\/\">Also read <\/a>Growing Cosmos easy annulas<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a title=\"Cosmos by brianpettinger, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/hortoris\/5152489680\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/farm2.static.flickr.com\/1421\/5152489680_54d9dbda83.jpg\" alt=\"Cosmos\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>From Gardeners Tips 2009 <strong>Easy to Grow Cosmos<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p>A bright cheery annual the Cosmos is an easy flower to grow and adds height and interest to a mixed border or looks stunning on its own. The clouds of feathery foliage set off the tall 3-4 feet tall flowers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tips for Growing Cosmos<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<ul>\n<ul>\n<li>After all the frost has gone sow Cosmos seeds thinly, direct into the ground and just cover lightly. They like well drained soil and a bit of sun for the best flowering.<\/li>\n<li>When Cosmos get to about 3 inches tall thin out to 10 inches apart, about enough distance to provide support for one another .<\/li>\n<li>Pinch out the growing tip when they get to 12-15 inches tall to encourage branching and more flowers.<\/li>\n<li>They are good as cut flowers, attract wildlife and if deadheaded should flower until the first frost.<\/li>\n<li>Plant in blocks rather than rows and if exposed to windy conditions provide some support.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Special Cosmos to Grow<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Colours range from white, pink, rose through to hot orange. Cosmos Sulphureus are mainly yellow and &#8216;Sunny Bars&#8217; is a double yellow.<\/li>\n<li>The Chocolate Cosmos called Cosmos atrosanguineum is perennial and is best grown from a bought plant. The deep burgundy flowers smell of chocolate.<\/li>\n<li>Common species are available in mixtures like &#8216;Sensation&#8217; or the dwarf &#8216;Sonata&#8217;.<\/li>\n<li>Variety &#8216;Sea Shells&#8217; has unusual tubular petalled blossom.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shoot for the stars with Cosmos bipinnatus or the Mexican aster a fine half-hardy annual to grow in any garden. The tall frothy stems produce many single dahlia like flowers in bright colours ranging from white to carmine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flowers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}