Cosmos | Cosmos

Cosmos | Cosmos

Asteraceae (Daisy and Sunflower Family) (Pronounced  ass-ter-AY-see-eye )

There are many species of Cosmos, but the two most familiar are:

Cosmos bipinnate (KAHS-mos   Bye-pin-NAY-tus) (pink, purple, red, white)

Cosmos sulphureus (KAHS-mos   Sul-FER-ee-us) | Yellow Cosmos, Klondike Cosmos (yellow-orange)

The common name is the scientific name. The name "Cosmos" is the Greek word meaning meaning both "order" and "world," as the Greek folks long ago thought that the world was perfectly harmonious and impeccably put in order, hence the derivative meaning of "harmony" which references the evenly placed petals. Cosmos also has a meaning of "everything that exists anywhere."

Varieties vary from 1 foot to 6 1/2 foot.

Cosmos are popular for cottage gardens and these annuals are rarely bought as starters in garden nurseries, but rather purchased as seeds and planted directly into the ground.

An ornamental flowering plant native of Mexico.

The plant prefers a half day of direct sunlight.

Encourage the plants to rebloom by cutting them back and they will rebloom in about a month. Leave the seeds you cut off in the ground and they will grow in 7 to 10 days to increase the plants for the season.

The flowers of the two common species are cup-shaped (but others can be bowl shaped) and have a yellow disc center.

The shape of the leaf is "pinnatisect" which means "cleft pinnately to or almost to the midrib." Pinnately means resembling a feather. I think I will need to study leaf shapes later as there seems to be so many!

I always read such great things about Cosmos and how easy they are to grow, but I have tried them many times and have not had a huge success. Not many of the seeds germinate and they end up a small patch. I like them, but I need to keep practicing with them. Maybe I need to buy a larger quantity of seeds.

The plant can tolerate heat if it has enough watering, but it does not like drought conditions.

My plants keep getting taller and taller and not blooming! Apparently it is too much nitrogen and not enough potassium. Nitrogen helps the foliage grow. P is for root and flower growth. K is for fruit and seed growth.

Also, I understand that they bloom quicker under stress because they sense that they can die at any moment, so they put out seeds.

Pinching the stems while they are 12 inches tall encourages side branches for bushier growth.

2024

When I realized I had planted seeds that cost me only a quarter, it allowed me to give up on waiting for these plants to bloom in 2024. I bought the Cosmos seeds at the dollar store. They do not say what the scientific name is of this variety that grew so tall and never bloomed.

2022

In 2022 I planted some seeds in this little pot and they did stay fairly short and they did eventually bloom and were cute for a period of time, but that was the best success I have every had with Cosmos.

2021

I think 2021 was the first year that I planted them and this was all of the bloom I eventaully achieved.