Allotments 4 All

This is the first time I'm growing Cosmo. I have a tray full of them, they are about six inches tall. On each plant there are two leaves but it is diffferent in the middle bit. Am I suppose to pinch out the middle bit please. Or do I just leave them to grow as tall as they like.

The seed leaves will be different from the true ones these are more feathery in style.I don't pinch out  , right or wrong I do not know,
you could look at the Sarah Raven cutting garden site  might be helpful.

Hi, I've never pinched cosmos out they branch out very well on their own. I also never bother to dead head them and they flower on quite happily till the frost cuts them down.

glad you said that, some of mine are flowering  ;D

I don't want the flowers to come until the end of may so I have whipped the tops off all 600 plants, once I had checked the colour was right, They will then be used in a display for a fortnight then cut right down again and used in a permanent display  from july to october. If they start going over too soon another haircut is in order

Gardeners World (dare I mention?!) are doing a trial of cosmos to see how long they can keep them going by deadheading - will be interesting to see the results.

I'm growing some white cosmos called "Purity" and was amazed how quickly they germinated.  they were transplanted out into the cold ground about a week ago and have been doing well. supposed to get near freezing tomorrow so will be covering them.

Also growing some deep purple (I hope) from last years plants and some gold ones. The gold ones grew rankly, too tall for my taste so guess after reading these posts I'll pinch them back. Thank you for the reminder :)

Thank  you folks for your tips and comments much appreciated!

Ace, you have 600 plant's. Wow you will be busy!

I love Cosmos- I've got some seeds from RHS which are only marked as "Cosmos bipinnatus" so the colour will be a surprise, and got some "candy stripe" in the post from Georgie today which I'll try sowing direct.

What is the standard height of this plant please?

Ours get anywhere from 2 feet to 4 feet, the gold ones the highest.

Mine seem to always grow exceptionally high - last year some of them were over 6 ft!

Never grown these, do they make cut cutting flowers?

Quote from: wetandcold on May 01, 2008, 08:22:17
Mine seem to always grow exceptionally high - last year some of them were over 6 ft!

Oh my goodness!  :o

Hi everyone, still very much a newbie here  :)

The cosmos that we have grown in the past has always been over 3ft tall, the ones that I am planting at the moment are freebies with this weeks Amateur Gardening mag and are said to grow 4ft. They are called 'candy stripe'.

I like cosmos in a mixed border because they wave around and add movement. Also their lacy airiness contrasts pleasantly with more dense plants.

Biscome,yes  a good cut flower,I  have spare seed if you'd like some.

I too have grown some for the first time, paid 29p for a packet of seed and have over a hundred.

I have just noticed that is says they grow to 1.2m tall, which is 4 feet. So will put a load along the fencing on the allotment.

And can I add I am sick of trying to swat that blasted fly ACE.

the cosmos ive planted dont look like theyll get that big!!  :o theyre a few inches tall and in the ground now but one looks like it has a flower bud on it? im guessing they didnt appreciate being left in the seed trays for so long....oops... dont mind so long as they flower!

Quote from: loopyloulou on May 06, 2008, 21:03:24
the cosmos ive planted dont look like theyll get that big!!  :o theyre a few inches tall and in the ground now but one looks like it has a flower bud on it? im guessing they didnt appreciate being left in the seed trays for so long....oops... dont mind so long as they flower!

Maybe you got the shorter variety. They'll grow fast when things heat up.