Growing cosmos - secrets of success

Externally, the cosmos is quite simple. But this is where its attractiveness lies: it is light, airy, sweet and pretty, and will decorate any garden.

Cosmos has long been a favorite of many garden owners. This simple annual looks great in absolutely any corner of the garden: whether planted in a group, used as a background for other plants, kept in a mixborder, or cut flowers collected in a bouquet.

The advantages of cosmos include its unpretentiousness. It has good cold resistance; lower temperatures and even light frosts do not frighten it. But this plant also shows excellent resistance to dry periods.

Growing cosmos requires only providing the plants with a sunny place in the garden, but protected from excessive gusts of wind. Cosmos does not like excess fertilizer; this may delay its flowering. The plant is undemanding to soil conditions.

Cosmos grows from half a meter to one and a half meters in height, its stems are erect and strong. The flowers are bright, large, similar to large daisies. Cosmos with simple flowers are more common, but there are also varieties with double flowers. The size of each flower is within 12 cm, their size is determined depending on the variety. The color of the flowers is varied: from white to pink, from red to bright burgundy.

Gartering tall bushes is another point that determines the cultivation of cosmos. The plant grows very quickly and willingly, so you can form hedges from cosmos bushes by cutting off the tall stems.

Cosmos is sown directly in open ground at the end of April or at the beginning of May; the seeds germinate quickly and amicably. Flowering begins in July and continues throughout the summer and autumn until the first frost.