How to grow cosmos for pollinators and for months of beautiful flowers
Cosmos seeds are a half hardy annual flower which means they will not survive a frost. Seeds can be sown in a greenhouse or sunny windowsill between February and April. Similarly, they can be sown directly into the garden or into pots when all risks of frosts are over. It is so easy to grow cosmos for pollinators.
Sow your seeds in a greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill in peat free sowing compost in pots or trays. Lightly cover the seeds with a sprinkling of compost or vermiculite and keep the pots or trays moist.
Cover the tray with a plastic lid or the pot with some plastic to keep the compost warm. As a result, the growing area becomes humid to aid germination. Seeds will normally start to germinate in about 7 days so check for signs of growth each day. Consequently, remove the lids once the seeds start to grow.
Pinch out the growing tips when each plant has about three pairs of leaves as this encourages the plant to branch out and produce more flowers.
Cosmos for pollinators coming along nicely!
Next stage for the seedlings
When seedlings become too large and crowded, each plant can be moved into small pots, this is called pricking out. When pricking out seedlings, lift each plant out gently and only hold the leaves and not the stems or roots as these are easily damaged.
Place each plant into a small container or pot filled with peat free compost and water well. Keep in greenhouse or on sunny windowsill. It is best to move the trays or pots outside during the day for a few days before you want to plant outside to gently acclimatise them to their new outdoor homes. Bring back in overnight and then plant them outside once the frosts are over.
It is the cosmos shuffle. A bit of a faff but worth it I promise!
And now you can enjoy your blooms until first frosts, often November or even December in the UK. You can sit back and watch the pollinators feeding from the flowers you have sown.
Also, you can pick some for a vase. Cosmos are cut and come again so the more you cut the more they will flower. They really are amazing turbo charged plants.
I purchase around twenty six varieties of seed each year and some of my favourites come from Sarah Raven. Click below for option.
Click here for Sarah Raven cosmos
Absolute favourites are Double Click Cranberries, Rubenza, Dazzler, Purity, Antiquity, Daydream, Sweet Sixteen, Fizzy Pink, mmm better stop or you will get all twenty six listed. All of them are varieties of cosmos for pollinators.
Naturally, I am always on the look out for new varieties too each year. Some apricot coloured flowers would look beautiful so perhaps Apricotta and Apricot Lemonade for next year too.
Several varieties are only 60cm high so these are ideal for pots, for a balcony, courtyard, or window box. So, if you don’t have much room, these are ideal flowers for months of colour and to attract the pollinators.
My post 8 benefits of beautiful cosmos flowers gives some more benefits of growing these beautiful flowers.
And another two posts you might be interested in shows how cosmos helped two dear friends with their wellbeing. One loved cosmos so much, she became the Cosmos Queen. Links below on both these posts.
A powerful gardening for wellbeing story
Greatest benefits of becoming a gardener
Thank you for growing cosmos for the pollinators.
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