Cosmos - Cosmos

Cosmos

Cosmos
Wildflower Information.Org

About Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus)

Height: Up to 6 ft.

Flower Color: Solid pink, white, maroon, and starburst pink with deep pink flares

Plant Type: Annual. Lives just one year. Grows quickly, blooms heavily, dies with first frost. Can regrow following spring if seed falls on bare ground.

Flower Type: Daisy-like

Bloom Time: Mid and late season

Is this wildflower invasive? No

Is this wildflower endangered? No

Is this wildflower edible? No

Is this wildflower medicinal? No

What is Cosmos's native range?
Indigenous To: Mexico

Where Cosmos is naturalized or can be grown

Regions: Native to desert areas, but can be grown successfully in all regions.

Zones: 3-10

How to grow Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus)

Soil preference: Adaptable

Sun/Shade: Needs full sun.

Moisture Requirements: Average to Arid

Instructions: One of the easiest seeds in the world to grow. Cosmos seed looks like miniature pine needles, which makes seeding simple. Just scatter the seed over freshly turned bare soil, and then compress the seed into the dirt. Do not cover. After sprouting, you'll notice fast-growing fern-leaved plants shooting up, usually taller than other seedlings around them. When cosmos plants are 4 to about 12" tall, they are some of the easiest seelings of all to transplant. So take advantage, and just dig them and move them wherever you want them. As they grow, if soil is rich, they may reach 5' or taller, and develop like a small tree covered with large flowers. The species is famous for cutting, and you can cut whole "branches" off the big plants, and make spectacular arrangements. Bloom begins in mid-summer and continues with increasing numbers of flowers until frost. Remember this is a desert species, native to Mexico, so seeding should be done in cold areas after frosts end in spring, not during fall. (If you plant in fall and then have late spring frosts, emerging cosmos seedlings may be lost.)

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