No summer without cosmos.
If you are looking for a flower that will bring you great joy all summer long, is absolutely uncomplicated and turns your garden into a sea of ​​flowers, you should take a closer look at cosmos (cosmos baskets).
 
This is the wonderful Kosmee Double Click Bicolour. You can get it HERE .
 
Briefly and succinctly summarized for you:
  • You can start them off beautifully indoors (April is the best time because they grow quite quickly and you can move them outside soon!).
  • Once the frost is over, you can sow them directly outside.
  • The germination rate is high - usually one seed per pot is enough.
  • Whether pot or bed – both are wonderful.
  • Afraid of snails? You can protect them in the pot with Schnexagon .
  • It is better not to fertilize, otherwise they will produce many leaves but fewer flowers.
  • You should definitely pinch them.
 
 
Would you like to delve deeper? Then read on here...
 
Cosmos are absolute beginner flowers - both when sowing and when caring for them, they bloom tirelessly from June (if grown early) to October, are enchanting cut flowers and simply make you happy.
About 200 years ago, these wonderful creatures found their way (from South America) to our region: the cosmos, also quite rightly called cosmos baskets.
With their flowers reminiscent of very large daisies and their delicate, feathery leaves like dill, they are for me the epitome of summer flowers.
 
Depending on the variety, cosmos grow to between 30 centimeters and over two meters in height and delight us with their relentless blossoms. Unfilled, semi-filled and filled.
They come in all possible shades of color from white to apricot, yellow, pink, burgundy, violet and even two-colored flowers.
You can find all Cottage Garden Cosmos HERE .
 
The annual plants are extremely undemanding when it comes to soil – you wouldn’t believe it because of their abundance of flowers.
Sun is ideal, partial shade is also possible in a pinch - they won't flower quite as profusely then. It's best not to fertilize them (fertilizer promotes leaf growth rather than flower growth) and they can also cope with short dry periods. In pots they need regular water.
The only care you should give them (selfishly - because then they will bloom more!) is pruning.
The more the wilting flowers (or fresh ones for the vase) are cut off, the more they will reward you with floral splendor.
Bed planning 2020 in the cottage garden with "A Year in Flowers" by Erin Benzakein.
SOWING
Sowing is as easy as caring for them.
You can either start them about a month before the seedlings are planted out (I definitely recommend it! Then they have a head start on snails, flower earlier and are not overgrown by weeds as quickly, which can quickly happen with small seedlings), or when the night frosts are over, you can sow them directly into the bed.
 
Or outside directly in pots also works well.
Cosmos usually grow very well, which means that if you grow them in small pots, one seed per pot is enough (preferably in potting soil).
Just one week later, the green heads peek out of the ground and at the latest three months after sowing, they unfold their beautiful decorative baskets.
 
If you have preferred them, gently get them used to the outdoors and the sun. They can be left outside a little longer every day...
Be sure to place them in a bright location, otherwise their stems will become long and crooked.
However, you can solve this later by placing the plant with its root ball deep into a new pot and filling it completely up to the top with soil (leaving only a little stem with leaves).
When planting, you should make sure that there is a distance of 30 to 40 centimeters between the individual plants, so that you will have a bushy display of flowers later. It is best to plant them in groups of 3. Then they will look even better.
And that's the only point where cosmos plants are a bit labor-intensive: the young plants are high on the menu for snails. That's why the seedlings need special protection in the early days.
I like to plant them in large pots and then place the pots directly in the bed. You can then coat them with Schnexagon .
Isn't she incredible? Kosmee Apricot (For more info click HERE )
PINCHING
You can pinch them to make them bushier and produce more flowers.
 
And this is how it works: When the young plants are about 20 to 30 centimeters high, shorten the shoot tip by a third.
Then they form several shoots. During the flowering period, be sure to cut out the wilted flowers; the cosmos will thank you with tireless new bud formation.
 
 
 
CUT FLOWER
No cut flower garden or bed would be complete without cosmos. They enchant every bouquet, whether pure or mixed. It is best to cut them before the flowers are fully open, then they will last in the vase for about a week.
Beautifully combined with field fennel. You can get the Double Dutch Rose HERE .
 
GAP FILLER
Cosmos are wonderful for filling gaps in the flower bed, decorating bare corners or simply in a pot to bring summer and color into the garden and into life.
This is the wonderful Cupcake Blush. You can find it HERE .
And if you're lucky, they simply reproduce themselves and you can find them in different locations from year to year.
 
Feel like it too? Then take a look at these beautiful varieties!
 
 
 
(The photo shows the cosmos "Rubenza" - more about this beauty HERE .)
Photos: Janina Laszlo, Michaela Eriksson @blomsterochflora , and My Cottage Garden