Watering Details: Drought tolerant. Water regularly while establishing, then water only during dry, hot spells. Sow Cosmos seed in trays or growing cells during early spring and cover with about 5mm of compost. The seeds are long and thin, so they can be easily handled.

Growing Tips: Trellis may be required to support thin stems in windy conditions. Cut spent blooms to encourage more flowering or allow them to go to seed and self sow. Fertilizer: Cosmos thrive in regular soil and may sprawl in nitrogen rich soils. If desired, an application of organic flower fertilizer can be mixed in around plants.

Garden Ready Plugs

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If you have a slightly shady yard, try growing your cosmos in a pot or other container. That way, you have more flexibility for moving it where the sunniest spot is in your yard. Cut Flower: Pinch growing point when the plant is 1’ tall to promote multi-stem growth. Harvest when flower buds are starting to open but before pollination occurs to ensure a longer vase life. Single flowers bloom 4-6 days when using flower food. The bloom period can be extended by harvesting stems with several buds at differing maturities to stagger blooming times. When seedlings are large enough to handle, transplant into 7cm (3″) pots and grow them on in cooler conditions until large enough to plant outdoors. When Cosmos plants are well grown and all risk of frost has passed, acclimatise them to outdoor conditions over 7 to 10 days. Transplant outdoors in full sun in any moist, well drained soil at a distance of 45cm (18″) apart. Pinch out the growing tip of each stem when transplanting to encourage stems to branch and produce more Cosmos flowers. Cosmos are heat and sun-loving plants, and without both, they’ll struggle to flower as productively as cosmos are known to do. If your plants are absent of blooms, or there are fewer blooms than you’d expect, then take a look at where you planted them.

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Suttons Consumer Products may substitute the Prize for a prize of an equal or greater value if, for any reason, the original Prize is unavailable. Cosmos prefer to grow in dry conditions, relying most heavily on regular irrigation only when they’re young seedlings. As native plants to Mexico and the Southwestern US, cosmos have adapted to be drought-tolerant plants. Make sure to grow your cosmos on the southern side of anything taller than them so they don’t spend hours in the shadows cast by the taller object. This could be a wall, mammoth sunflowers, your garden shed…take a look before you plant. These cosmos are planted next to a wall of vines, but they still receive enough light because they’re on the southern side. To help promote cosmos blooms, plant seeds or transplants in a location that receives full sun for at least 8 hours per day. Make sure the soil is well-draining and don’t overwater them. Avoid adding any fertilizer high in nitrogen since that will promote leaf growth instead of flowers.