Cosmos tips?

So, as some of you might know, last month's GW magazine came with some free white cosmos seeds. Dutifully I germinated them, and although they came out rather leggy and some of them died (no fault of the seed, though - I had the worst cold a week or so ago and was a bit neglectful with watering ^^;; ) they seemed sturdy enough so I put them in little pots under cloches in the garden today.

Any extra tips as to potting on and looking after them? Can I germinate another batch, or is it too late in the year now?

 

Haven't even sown mine yet because of the anal weather we've been experiencing. On that basis, I would suggest trying another batch, you've got nothing to lose and much to gain - not an experienced point of view - merely gauging my sowing in line with the weather.

Hopefully, someone more experienced will be able to give you more 'sound' advice.

 

Not helpful in any way, but I've also planted mine and now have 15 leggy looking little seedlings in small pots in the greenhouse. They actually germinated better than anything else I've sown so far!

 

I usually sow some cosmos in seed trays then pot them on into modules, grow them on a bit then plant them outside around May. This year I sowed some directly into modules which are quite tall after about 2 weeks (but we did have some very warm weather last week) and I'm just going to plant them straight outside in a couple of weeks time. I also sow directly outside around the middle of May and they usually come up brilliantly, but obviously will flower a bit later. Purity, which is the variety which came with the GW mag I think, are gorgeous, flower their socks off all summer with the purest white flowers, as their name suggests, (make sure you deadhead regularly to keep them going. I still had flowers in October last year.) and grow really tall. I think they are one of the easiest and most rewarding annuals you can grow.
Good luck and enjoy them!

 

i planted the ones that came with GW last night direct into planters. hopefully combined with iris, lillies and dahlias in the same planters they should put up a stunning display.

 

When I grew my cosmos last year, and had so many I planted them in clumps of 5, they were showstoppers, everyone asking me and neighbours what they were.

p.s the seed is very easy to collect from these for next year, and seed swap.

 

I'll try planting mine in clumps this year I gathered seeds from my Cosmos gazebo last year but had zero germination . I'll ask for a few tips on seed collection this Autumn.

 

How are you Cosmos Purity doing? (Particularly those who are growing the free seeds from GW mag?)

I didn't get to plant my seeds until the beginning of June and I transplanted them into beds a couple of weeks ago. They are putting on some strong growth now but, because I was late getting mine started, I was wondering how everyone else is getting on with theirs?

 

Mine are doing well, in the past cosmos has done really badly for me, the curse of the brown thumb again.

 

My free cosmos are doing really well! My first batch, planted aprilish are flowering and my next batch planted in mayish are not far behind. Several family members are also enjoying my spares! I will grow them again I think, although they did get a lot bigger than I expected - should have read the packet

 

One of mine, not in flower yet, but loads of buds

 

That's a big Cosmos aln !!
Like Lindsay I have found some Cosmos can get a bit big . Last couple of years I have grown Cosmos Gazebo this grow to about 3 feet max , I have just grown the white one this year. I'll put a photo on this weekend , they have started to flower.

 

Aye, it's. biggie!

Here's another one (on the driveway) I just took, it's mixed with dahlias and trailing begonias. I have 3 planters with the cosmos I got free with GW magazine. Everything is fed with phostrogen, miracle grow and tomato feed twice a week!

 

al, yet again, I am in awe of your gardening talents: the tub of cosmos, dahlia and begonias is stunning!