How To Grow Cosmos

[@franceswatts4001]

Cosmos was considered a weed in Zimbabwe where I grew up, and there would be huge swaths of it along the roadside. We used to get on our bikes and pick armsful for our mothers. They were mostly white with a few pink and if we were really lucky a single plant with deep maroon flowers. We always left those unpicked, hoping there would be more next year. This will be the first time I have tried growing them as flowers and I am south of you in Upper Nithsdale, Dumfries and Galloway, so it will be a few weeks yet before I start.

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hello, I loved hearing your story of the cosmos growing by the roadside in Zimbabwe, a weed there maybe but a pretty one! It would have loved the heat there and I am always surprised that we can grow it well in Scotland with some of the summers we can get. I hope you get on well growing it this year in Dumfries and Galloway and we have a good sunny summer to bring it out at its best!

[@plabebob]

I love these deep dives in to a single plant, they're so handy! More please!

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Thanks so much. I am glad you are enjoying the videos on individual flowers. I am planning more for the winter and next growing season 😊

[@MelainaSquicciarini-ty1dh]

It’s my first year planting cosmos! Most excited for the Apricot Lemonade!

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Me too, I am so excited to try apricot lemonade for the first time. I love cosmos, apricotta is so lovely too and my regular favourites have always been purity and daydream. Good luck growing your cosmos this year!

[@schoolbeginsaftercoffee4759]

Lots of great info. It was all presented so clearly. Thanks from Chicago.

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Thanks so much for watching in Chicago. I am really glad you found my video helpful. Have a good day.

[@jeannet9592]

I was so glad to see another "how to" video from you!! Thank you!

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Thanks Jeanne. I love cosmos and can’t wait to have it back in flower in July. Do you have any favourite varieties of cosmos you grow? X

[@jeannet9592]

@@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm I keep trying new ones each year, so I don’t know if I have a favorite! I do like the seashells, cupcake series and double click.

[@dennisryan7500]

This is our first year of being a flower farmer and Cosmos is one of the varieties we have growing. Thanks on all of the info on growing. It is a great help.

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Thanks so much for watching and good luck with your first season as a flower farmer. Cosmos is definitely a great cut flower to have growing on your farm in your first year.

[@rosehill1595]

Here in Florida I can grow the tall orange and yellow variety that reach five to over six feet, basically an annual 'bush'. I simply throw the seeds from the spent bush in the garden and I get a second and third batch up to around October, sometimes into November. My current favorite is Bon Bon - a dainty - stunning pink variety and Chocolate Cosmos. This year I seeded out a pale sort of banded lemonade-peach-pink Japanese variety - we'll see how that goes. I want to try a couple more from the Versailles collection that I came across, deeper reds. The pink and white ones look great next to purplish/lavender-pink Bonasierensis and look visually striking next to the vanilla color Zinnias - they give off an etheral fairy vibe. You convinced me to give the all white varieties another chance - maybe I'll try the white seashells with their fluted double flower. Sometimes you get stuck on doing the easy thing like those yellow and orange cosmos because in our hot and humid climate there are not that many flowers that look great in the brutal heat of summer. Free of pests, loved by butterflies and need literally no care. My yellow and orange cosmos has been in full bloom for weeks:).

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Your brighter coloured cosmos sound like they grow amazing well in your hotter climate. They reach an incredible height for you. Bon Bon is very like a double click pink variety I grow here. I love chocolate cosmos too. It is a couple of years since I have grown it but you have reminded me of it again! Thanks so much for watching from Florida. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

[@TaLeng2023]

You just regrow them all from the spent flowers? Don't they hybridize when you grow multiple varieties?

[@andyhyde4711]

Have you tried zinnias there? My favorite. In north pa. Flowers stay on and looking good for month easy. Try em

[@patosborne2442]

Absolutely gorgeous! Cosmos are my favourite flowers to grow and cut. Your bouquets are simply divine. Thank you for sharing. x

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Thank you so much 😊 I am looking forward to trying some new varieties of cosmos this year. They are such pretty flowers to use in bouquets.

[@eileenchang2173]

I just started started cosmos for the first time. I think I started them too early so may have to start some seeds again , as the spring has been a slow start this year ! Thanks for the timely video! 🌸❤️🇨🇦

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

It has been a cold slow spring for us too which has made it difficult getting tender things started. The great thing about cosmos, zinnia, sunflowers that we might need to sow later in a cold spring is they are very fast to germinate and get growing. I hope you get on well with the new batches of cosmos you start now x

[@deidralewandowski2659]

i appreciate this review of cosmos as i like to see the process from start to finish. I have a new motivation from watching your presentation as I have many many cosmos varieties and now I feel encouraged to just do it!!

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hello, thanks for watching and I hope you have lots of success trying out your cosmos varieties this year. You will have to let us know at the end of the season what your favourite one was.

[@d.-beck7205]

I sowed my first batch of Cosmos much too early and sadly got rid of the poor leggy things today. Your video helped me a lot, I hope my second try will be successful. Thank you for your very instructive explanations! ❤

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hello and thanks so much for watching. Cosmos can get leggy quite quickly if sown early in too low light levels. It’s definitely happened to me before. Good luck with your second batch. My video here might help for rescuing any leggy seedlings in the future How To Fix Leggy Flower Seedlings | They Can Be Rescued! kzbin.info/www/bejne/gX2taWCaiaeIqJI

[@inspiringgardenkorner]

This year I did a cut and come again garden and grew white purity cosmos from seed. I was so happy with how well they are doing in our Georgia weather!!!

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hi and thanks for watching 😊 That’s brilliant your white cosmos did so well, I just love it! What other flowers grew well for you? What does your weather tend to be like in Georgia? Our weather can’t make its mind up at the moment! One minute the sun comes out and it’s a little bit warm and then it goes back to being cold with these big downpours of rain. At least the garden is getting well watered just now!

[@inspiringgardenkorner]

GM I created a secret garden on the side of our home and this was the first year that I grew flowers from seeds. Dahlias, pin cushions, Gomphrena, lupine, cosmos and Zinnas. Our weather has been a little off but we are in the 80 this week and looks like the same next week. We get rain but 20 minutes afterwards you wouldn’t know it cause it does get hot here and humid

[@aileenstewart3083]

I love cosmos and would never be without it in my garden. I’ve tried many varieties over the years and have been delighted with all of them, but two of my favourites are “Rubenza” (which is a great container variety, as it doesn’t get too tall) and “Cupcakes”.

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hi Aileen, thanks so much for watching. That’s a great tip for everyone that you have found the Rubenza doesn’t get too tall so is good for containers. I have never tried the cupcake varieties so that is one for me to try in the future. They are stunning. I love the fizzy series too.

[@sheelaghomalley5459]

I grow cosmos as a foliage. Fabulous plat. Cannot wait for mine

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

It does have brilliant foliage on it as well as the flowers. That is the one thing I never seem to have enough of, good foliage so when a plant has the double bonus of flowers and foliage that is great.

[@sofielys5452]

I tried the lemonade variety. I am an absolute amateur, but had massive succes. Doing them again this year, from the seed I saved.

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Thanks for watching 😊 That’s great you had success with cosmos lemonade. It’s such a gorgeous flower.

[@thecraftyhairdressercardsa205]

This has come at just the right time. I had sown Cosmos far too early and haven’t been sure what to do next. Thank you so much for another great video with lots of helpful information. You are a brilliant teacher, thank you so much again ❤

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Thank you 😊 Yes cosmos started too early you can run into problems with. But the great thing is they are quick to germinate and get growing so you could start a new batch now. If your cosmos are looking a bit leggy that you have already started you could pinch them out and get them in a place with lots of light to grow on.

[@thecraftyhairdressercardsa205]

@@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm aw thank you for the advice, it’s much appreciated. I have started some more, I’m sure I’ll get on better with these ones. I actually had to pinch out a flower bud on the earlier ones, I couldn’t believe how quickly they wanted to flower. 😬

[@serenaverolla8910]

Was assa as sassassss

[@rosebud447]

Cosmos is one of my favourites. I have a few started, purity I believe. Favourable weather is coming so I will start more. Gorgeous bouquets as always💕🌸

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Thank you Vera, it has been a cold spring so I will be getting some more cosmos going soon as well. I can’t wait to see them again in the summer blooming.

[@edmundhawan3886]

Again a great video Thanks for the information and the wonderful pictures of your bouquets. Just sown our seeds trying the apricotta this year too. Looking forward to some good weather now here in the comeragh mountains,Ireland . The greenhouse is bursting! Kind regards Sharon

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hi Sharon, you will love apricotta, it’s beautiful. I know it is definitely time for some better weather. I have a lot of planting out to do as well but it was bitterly cold again yesterday so hopefully it turns warmer soon. The one upside to the cold weather is the tulips are not all coming out at once! X

[@majawow]

I harvested some seeds in Greece. A bunch of orange cosmos grow on a full sun spot, thrive there and apparently flower all summer long.

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Orange cosmos sound like they would be lovely and cheerful to have growing. The heat in Greece must suit them. Thanks so much for watching.

[@bebeautiful6613]

Call me lucky 🍀 I have not bought seeds for years. Unless it’s a color I want to try. They reseed themselves in my area of the world. I have a cottage garden. I don’t grow for cutting. I grow for pollinators. These are work horses 🐝🦋 😃 I dead head to keep them coming. Love the tall graceful beauty they bring to my garden 💞🪴 Then, in the fall I leave the stocks and seeds for the little birds. 😃 thank you for the nice video 😊💖Nebraska USA.

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hi and thanks so much for watching from Nebraska. I love seeing the self seeded annuals come back each year. It always amazes me after a harsh winter how they just pop up and flower so well. That’s wonderful cosmos does that for you x

[@carolyncumming4277]

A lovely informative video. Thankyou from NZ ❤

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hello and thanks so much for watching from New Zealand 😊

[@cindynicholson372]

Thanks, Catherine - super video.

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Thanks for watching Cindy 😊 x

[@joannewilliams5589]

My apricot lemonade was fabulous last year. X

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

That’s great to know. I definitely need to add it to my seed shopping list next year. There are so many fantastic varieties to grow! Thanks for watching this week 😊

[@anntodd1233]

Your bouquets are so pretty!

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed the video.

[@tamiratliff4459]

Great info , growing them in Alaska first time this year, mine are looking great, in 3 inch pots , I'm thinking they may get too big, so once it's not freeze, I'll keep them in greenhouse at night and float cloth them, I'm trying Rubenza,apricot lemonade , apricot, so we'll see how they do here, we still have 2 ft of snow some places 😮, great video

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Thanks so much for watching. I am so glad you enjoyed my video. When is your last frost date in Alaska so that you can get your cosmos planted outside? I hope you get some lovely flowers this year. You have had good mix of varieties growing. I am glad they are doing so well in their 3 inch pots, they do grow fast though don’t they! Good luck with your growing this season.

[@tamiratliff4459]

@@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm hi we usually don't plant anything out until after Memorial day weekend, I tend to wait longer and definitely this year , I like ground warmer, as it just sits and does nothing in cold soil, thanks for your advice

[@copicgirl8057]

The hardest thing about growing cosmos or gardening in general is: Patience, and that's really hard for me haha I have grown many cosmos in my greenhouse already and they are around 20 cm (8 inches) high and I can't wait for them to go outside and finally bloom! 🥹 I am in Austria (Europe) which is 7a and I can finally put them out around next week! 😁

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hello, thanks so much for watching from Austria. I can get impatient too waiting for seeds to germinate or for the slower growing annuals to really get going but it is so exciting when they do! This year I feel we are needing a lot of patience waiting for better weather! We haven’t had much sunshine this spring and lots of cold grey days so I can’t wait for better weather and get everything out in the garden. Good luck with getting everything planted out in the next few weeks and I hope you have a summer full of flowers 😊

[@lsquared6975]

Great information! Thanks for sharing!

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Thanks so much for watching 😊

[@Riti_Roots]

How lovely ❤ thanks for sharing. New subscriber! I love growing just plain white cosmos, so dreamy, but they show age so much faster.

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Thanks so much for watching and subscribing too 😊 The white cosmos are beautiful so will look stunning if you are just planting that one colour in a group together.

[@jacquis-j9606]

Lots of lovely info. Thank you

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Thank you, I am looking forward to the cosmos being back in bloom in the summer x

[@NiseyLou]

Great video! Thank you

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hi and thanks so much for watching. I am really glad you enjoyed it. Working on putting a summer bouquet one together for tomorrow now x

[@joanstenderup4232]

Great video, thank you! I noticed you used a seed tray without individual cells to sow the seeds in - is there an advantage to doing this? I normally sow seeds in my seed tray with individual compartments that way they are already “potted” - but I haven’t grown cosmos before, so I’m wondering if a tray without compartments is better for cosmos like in your video?

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Thanks so much for watching. That’s a great question. I sow the seed in the half seed trays rather than directly into individual cells in a larger seed tray mainly so if not all the seeds germinate I haven’t wasted a cell. When I transplant them into the trays I will have one good one growing I can transplant into each cell.

[@bridginaodonovan6721]

This is a great informative tutorial, thank you. I've grown cosmos many times over the years, some successfully & some not, some just refuse to flower. Is it true that it's best not to feed them or overwater? I'd love some advice as ive stared my seeds & will plant them out in about 10 days.

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hello, thanks so much for watching. Yes it’s true that you don’t need to feed cosmos. Sometimes too rich a soil especially in nitrogen can lead to lots of leafy growth and fewer flowers. Cosmos do need watering to get established at first when you plant them out but don’t need over watering after that as yes too much water later on can lead to fewer flowers too. Last year we had a really dry June and I think that mine needed more water than I gave them to establish well so it’s finding the right balance there which can be tricky.

[@shirleybredal3825]

Great video thank you! How far apart do you plant them for a bushy full effect?

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hi Shirley, thanks for watching 😊 You can space them 30-45cm apart so I would go for 30cm to get a bushy effect and definitely pinch them out for extra bushy plants.

[@susanconsidine2648]

Beautiful Catherine. I love Cosmos just sown some Antiquity first time trying them hope they live up to expectations.

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Let us know how you get on with the antiquity Susan as that is definitely on my shopping list for next year. They are such a fantastic flower and the foliage is great for arranging too x

[@kotsifou]

This is a very informative video. Thank you!! Do you think I can grow Cosmos in a warmer climate like Crete at the south Mediterranean?

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hello thanks so much for watching. I think your cosmos would do very well in Crete in the summer. They germinate fast in warmer soils and are heat loving plants that do best in warm weather. They just need a sunny spot in well drained soil.

[@alirE2904]

At two inches i transplanted in ground in beginning of may.

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hi Alice, thanks for watching. I hope your cosmos are doing well. I am looking forward to getting mine in the ground in a couple of weeks after that last frost date.

[@Evie_1240]

Hello! 😃This is my first time planting any flower and I was wondering what type of soil do I use to plant the cosmos? There is just so many. 😵

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hello, thanks for watching 😊 There is a lot of choice for compost isn’t there. But for cosmos a general multipurpose will do fine. It doesn’t need any extra feed or special type. If they get too many extra nutrients you sometimes end up with a bushy green plant but with not many flowers.

[@lisar9847]

great info - but I find cosmos drop a lot of pollen. Any suggestions

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hi, thanks for watching. With pollen on cosmos if you are looking to use it as a cut flower it is getting it harvested before pollination so cutting when it is just starting to unfurl from its bud but not opened completely. That way you get the longest vase life before pollen is shed.

[@mercury_rising]

My cosmos were so loved by the bees last year, I just didn’t have the ❤ to cut them 😊

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

The bees really do love them. The great thing is cosmos produces so many flowers I can never keep up cutting them all so there are some for the bees and some for me for arranging 🐝 🌸

[@marlenepopos12]

What night time temperatures can the cosmos tolerate.

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Thanks for watching. They can survive outside well when night time temps are getting above 50f/10c. They will not survive any frosts overnight.

[@Ladyloubug9]

Would you pinch other annuals like Cleomes and zinnias as well? ❤

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hi, thanks for watching 😊 Yes Cleomes and zinnias would benefit from pinching too for a bushier plant with more flowers.

[@flowerfairy1950]

Hello, can you grow cosmos seed in individual small pots to avoid potting on? I am about to sow some here in Australia 🇦🇺

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hello. Thanks for watching. Yes you can sow them direct into pots if you like. That does save potting on. The main thing is hoping for good germination. You can always sow 2 seeds to a pot in case one doesn’t germinate and if they both do take one out and pot it up separately.

[@flowerfairy1950]

@@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm Many thanks 👍

[@wilsgrant]

I keep hearing Cosmos don't need much water and are super draught tolerant. Based on this advice, I planted mine in grow bags with excellent drainage and well draining soil. However, if they go even a day or two in the PNW summer without watering they get dramatic and start drooping heavily. As soon as they are watered, they perk right up. Why is that?

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hi, thanks for watching. I had also ready over the years that cosmos is a fairly drought tolerant plant. But over the last few years I have been noting things down about my own experiences. Last year we had a very dry period unexpectedly and I did not water the cosmos much as I thought they could tolerate a bit of drought. Instead I concentrated on watering other plants I though needed more. Last year the cosmos were the poorest I had had. This year we got a similar dry period at the start of the summer and I made sure I watered them a lot more. We have then had a really wet summer. The cosmos this year are far better. I think they do need more water than I first thought especially when they are young plants getting established. So in containers I would think the requirement for water would be high as the pots can dry out so quickly.

[@sew_what_knot]

What a fantastic video, so informative, but i dont understand the point of putting them in a bucket of clean water for hours, when surely just putting them straight in a vase with clean water is the same? Or have i missed something 🤷

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Thanks so much for watching and that’s a good question. Once you have flowers in a vase they start ageing straight away from the effects of sunlight, heat and fruit etc in our homes. The purpose of giving them a long drink of water in a bucket is not only to rehydrate them but while doing this keeping them in a dark cool place. This period of hydrating in a cool dark spot helps maximise their vase life. The stems as well are often a little dirty from the mud in the garden and this comes off while they are conditioning so when you arrange them in your vase afterwards you have nice strong clean stems to put in which will last longer and keep the vase water cleaner.

[@sew_what_knot]

@@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm ok thanks, that makes sense x

[@judyrobinson2282]

I grew them last year but had vert few blooms but the plants were like trees--very tall and bushy and helthy. What might have been wrong they did not bloom very well?

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hello Judy, thanks so much for watching. I wonder if the soil was a bit too nutrient rich and that’s why you got a lot of bushy green growth but not so many flowers. Nitrogen in the soil promotes leafy growth but not so much flowers. Did you feed the plants at all with anything? I don’t feed my cosmos so maybe that will help for this year?

[@ch1qx]

First! Love these flowers

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Me too, fantastic flowers! Thanks for watching 😊

[@mariebutler6912]

Can they be grown in a 15 litre pot?

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hi Marie, yes you can grow cosmos in a 15 litre pot. You will be better growing the shorter varieties in pots and the pots should be at least 30cm wide and similar depth for the roots to have room to go down into.

[@toniellsworth9525]

I have had my cosmos form lots of green but not buds and flowers, why does this happen?

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hi, thanks for watching. Sometimes this can happen if the soil is too nutrient rich, especially with nitrogen which will promote good leafy growth rather than flowers.

[@gretchenrobinson825]

goldfinches like the seeds here in US.

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Thanks for watching, lovely to have goldfinches coming to your garden.

[@gardensenglishandtrivia]

I have had cosmos plants for many years (all sorts of colours, shapes and sizes). It is an extremely easy plant to grow, it self-seeds readily and it is trouble-free. Right now it is more of a nuisance, to be honest ;-)

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hi and thanks for watching. Yes definitely a very trouble free plant to grow and something for everyone with so many different varieties. It sounds like it thrives in your garden.

[@gardensenglishandtrivia]

@@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm Yes, it definitely does!

[@atirblum]

A detail to make it more comfortable watch : try to look in the camera- not on your self?❤

[@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm]

Hello, thanks so much for watching and the helpful feedback. I am definitely learning as I go along being in front of a camera so any feedback is appreciated!

[@atirblum]

@@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm ❤️