The weather has been like a yo-yo this past while, but we are definitely headed towards spring, so the seed catalogues have become favorite reading material! There are certainly some beautiful cosmos, and often-overlooked annual that deserves our attention.
Cosmos is a cousin in the sunflower family, and originally hails from sunny Mexico. It can also be found in South America, and guess what, even in South Africa! How did it make the leap there? I read that it travelled those many miles, via horsefeed from Argentina, during the Anglo-Boer war, imagine that! So sometimes when we see a mystery plant suddenly pop up in our gardens, it would probably have an interesting story to tell us if it could talk!
In our climate, the plants are annuals with a growth range from 10 or so inches up to six feet. They are very good-natured: easy to grow, and providing us with beauty in the garden, durable flowers for cutting, and the added bonus of being very attractive to bees. They are also happy to be grown in containers.
Cosmos like full sun, and can tolerate poor and dry soil. In fact, we must remember not to give them any fertilizer because then they will go crazy with foliage and forget about producing blooms for us! If we are watering them, we have to be careful not to give them too much water. See what I mean, they are relaxed about soil and water requirements: a great easy-care plant!
We can either start the seeds in the house several weeks before the last spring frost, or we can seed them directly out into our gardens. This method will take longer before we see blooms, but they will do just fine. We should dead-head them so that they will produce more flowers, and if we are growing the very tall varieties they might have to be staked.
There are many stunning varieties to choose from. In the T & T catalogue, there is a new variety called “Dazzler” that has bright carmine blooms and grows to about four feet, making it a great plant to have near the back of a border. In spite of its height, the catalogue says that Dazzler has a spread of only about fourteen inches, so it obviously doesn’t sprawl all over our gardens.
For containers, there is a cosmos called “Dwarf Cosmic Mix” that has very compact plants of twelve inches, lacy foliage, and vibrant colors. And here’s one that sounds perfect for many of us: “Dwarf Sensation: At last, the beauty of cosmos without staking! Easy to grow and quick to flower from seed. Blooms in shades of pink, carmine, pink blush and white on compact 60 cm plants. Excellent in beds and borders!” Doesn’t that sound beautiful?
Cosmos is a plant that we might forget about because while we are looking for the “next new thing” we overlook the great old favorites in our gardens! I also love the airy look of cosmos in the garden, very free-form and delicate. So let’s give them a spot in our gardens this year!
Don’t forget these important dates: Seedy Saturday takes place on Saturday, March 11 beginning at 12:30 at Dr. Brass School in Yorkton. There will be displays, booths, and interesting speakers. March 15 is the date of the next Yorkton and District Horticultural Society regular meeting; our guest speaker will be Maira Waechli, owner of Florissima Flowers and Plants, speaking to us about “Growing and Caring for Orchids”. And then on Saturday, March 25, we’re planning a one-day bus trip to Saskatoon to visit Gardenscape. It’s a gardening extravaganza, and if you think you’d like to join us, please call Liz at (306) 782-2830 for all the details. This trip is open to non-members. Have a great week!
