A seedling straining for light may grow leggy.
The germinated seeds need enough light to grow strong and bushy. Plants that have been overfed may also produce abundant foliage at the expense of flowers. Alternatively, you can protect the plant from the cold with horticultural fleece or straw.Ĭosmos are sun-loving plants, so any cosmos sown or grown in shade will have trouble flowering. It’s ideal for container gardens as the pots can be brought undercover over winter. Most cosmos are annuals and will need to be resown from seed or planted as seedlings each year.Ĭosmos atrosanguineus, or chocolate cosmos, is the exception – it is a tender perennial. The seedlings won’t necessarily be true to the parent plant. The lower you go in the plant, the longer it will take for the next flower to emerge.Īt the end of the season, collect seed from flowering cosmos and save it to sow the following spring. So go lower down to the next main stem leaf. If you’re picking, you may want a slightly longer stem than that. That way, you will promote bud formation encouraging new flowers to emerge. To deadhead cosmos, follow the stem down from the flower and cut above the first leaves that you meet, rather than just taking the flower head off. Better yet, pick your cosmos and enjoy the cut flowers indoors. With the taller cosmos, it’s a good idea to add a second layer of netting – the first layer at about 30cm (1ft), and the second at 60cm (2ft) with ultimate height of 90cm-120cm (3–4ft).ĭeadhead any spent cosmos flowers and the plant will keep flowering reliably until October or until the first frosts. It doesn’t look great at first, but new leaves and growth will soon cover it. The cosmos will then grow up and through the grid and are lightly supported. You simply stretch the net horizontally over your young cosmos plants and between bamboo or hazel canes to support it. The other way of staking cosmos is by using pea or jute netting. It may seem a bit harsh, but you won’t notice the cane within a couple of weeks as the leaves will grow over it. Try to tie in every single one of the stems, because otherwise the outer limbs get broken off when it's windy. You can stake each individual plant with a hazel or bamboo cane when it reaches about 60cm (2ft), using flexi-tie or string to tie it in about 30cm (1ft) off the ground. The taller varieties of cosmos will need staking and you can do this in one of two ways. There’s no need to feed cosmos growing in borders. fertilisingįeed cosmos in pots with a liquid fertiliser every couple of weeks throughout the summer. Water cosmos regularlarly, particularly in a drought. Pinch out the growing tip of each stem to encourage them to branch and produce more flowers. At that point, you can thin them out to about 30cm (12in) apart. Space the seed about 5–8cm (2–3in) apart and water well.Ībout three weeks later, the seedlings should have popped up.
#Last stop cosmos no Patch#
Rake the patch until you have a fine, crumbly consistency. direct sowing cosmos seedsĭirect sow your cosmos seeds in May – the risk of frost should have passed by the time they emerge. Then plant out in late May or June once the risk of frosts has passed. Pinch out the growing tip of each stem when 3 pairs of true leaves have grown to encourage stems to branch and produce more flowers. Pot the seedlings on into larger pots when they are big enough to handle. If both seeds germinate, remove one of the seedlings a week later and leave the other one to grow on in splendid isolation. Water well and then place in a greenhouse or on a warm windowsill to help germination. Push two seeds about 3mm deep into each module. Use seed trays filled with good compost or Jiffy modules. The seeds are long and thin, so can be easily handled. Cosmos seeds can be sown undercover in March or April.
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