Contemplating the Cosmos

Samantha55

Good Evening. After spending a pleasant hour deadheading I am constantly amazed at how my local nursery manage to grow Cosmos. My favourite flower delights me with their intense colour, delicate foliage and abundance of blooms. My spindly efforts were fine but the half a dozen nursery specimens were magnificent; stems as thick as my thumbs! How do they do it?

fidgetbones

Feed. I raised a bunch of seedlings, and gave some to a friend. She has a new garden(to her) with very rich soil. The ones she has are doing far better than mine as regards flowers. Sometimes overfeeding results in very large plants that take ages to flower, but regular pinching of the shoots can help.

Samantha55

Thanks. Their magnificence has been their own downfall for some. Never mind, my  vases are full and the house is full of colour for their last Harrah!

Fire

Yes, I plant mine into manured beds (along with lots of other stuff) and the plants turn into five foot trees. They flower massively from Oct to Christmas - very late, but going strong after most of the other flowers are long gone. I think lots of water really helps too. The more you water, the taller they will get. Pretty much.

Samantha55

Fill your boots/beds with this lovely flower!

Fire

I have. In a few weeks, they should look pretty spectacular. I thought I had put in a load of what plants, but apparently they didn't make it.