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No doubt you’ve seen brilliant pink, magenta and white flashes of color as you’ve driven down our vast highway system during the dog-days of summer and into autumn. Did you know those are the stately Cosmos brought to us by none other than the former First Lady and Texas debutante Lady Byrd Johnson? It is through her effects to beautify our nation’s roads that so many people have been introduced to this pretty daisy-like wildflower.
Yes, the Cosmos, a native of Mexico, started life as a meadow favorite tantalizing birds, especially Gold Finches, with their long, narrow seeds which once dry will float to the far reaches of earth making them reappear year after year very predictably, sort of like perennials though they are technically annuals. It is this tendency to self-sow which makes it agreeable to your average gardener who likes a few surprises every spring. Once planted and allowed to set seed you should always have it around and good thing too. Cosmos is a wonderful plant.
You’ve already been told the flowers come in reds, pinks and white but that’s just the common wildflower. The hybrids are even better or at least some folks think so. The newest cultivars have many special features, coming in many flower forms including single, double, crested and frilled. The plants all look rather similar to the wildflower. Cosmos can be from 2 ½ to 8 feet high depending on variety. They have wiry stems, flowers between 1 and 3 inches wide and airy, fern-like bright green leaves.
They are extremely easy to care for as they require nothing from you. Cosmos like full sun and prefer a well-draining soil on the poor side. They are quite drought tolerant but do better with a regular water supply. As the Cosmos is a rather tall plant it works well in the back of a perennial border, planted among shrubs or as a back drop to smaller, annual plants and a wildflower garden isn’t complete without Cosmos. They look great in cut flower arrangements and dry nicely between the pages of a heavy book.
Cosmos Bipinnatus the most common of which is the readily available “Sensation” cultivar is an annual with tufted bright yellow centers and petals coming in pink, lavender, crimson, purple, rose and some very pretty bi-colors. “Radiance” is rose colored with a red center. “Candystripe” has 3 inch flowers in white and rose. An amazing newer cultivar is the “Seashell” strain with petals rolled onto themselves to form little tubes all around the center, really quite pretty and unusual looking. “Picotee” is a wonderful frilly flower. The petals start in palest lavender around the yellow center, going into orchid and edged in bright pink. “Psyche” is a lovely double flower in bright pinks and magenta. “Daydream” is a white flower with a ring of dark pink around the yellow center.
Cosmos sulphureus, commonly called Yellow Cosmos, is another annual growing to 7 feet with bright gold or yellow flowers with matching centers. A popular variety is the Klondike which grows 3-4 feet tall. This one has 2 inch, semi-double blossoms in neon-bright colors visible from a football field away. They come in every shade between scarlet-orange to brightest yellow. The Dwarf Klondikes, in similar colors, are called “Sunny” for obvious reasons. Grows only 1 ½ feet high with flowers 1 ½ inch wide and looks especially nice inter-planted with equally bright Zinnias, blue Heliotrope and 4 O’clocks.
Cosmos Atrosanguineus is the Chocolate Cosmo, named such for its 2 inch wide, brownish-red flowers and its intense fragrance of chocolate and vanilla. This one is actually a perennial in tropical areas and can be wintered-over with a generous supply of mulch to cover it. In the coldest regions it can be treated much like a Dahlia. It has tuberous roots and can be dug up and stored in peat moss until the next spring for replanting.
Most of these varieties and a few more can be found in The Select Seeds Antique Flowers catalogue or visit them at http://www.selectseeds.com and order online. With all these to pick from you could chose a new one to try every year. If you collect some seeds you’ll always have some to share with your favorite people. You know where to find me.
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Author Bio Box: Glory Lennon
 For more amazing garden facts, a glimpse at an unfinished novel and amusing short stories come visit me at
http://www.helium.com/user/32782
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