I planted some seeds, orange cosmos and these sprouted up around that time and I thought it was them. But now wondering if its just a weed? They are about 10 inches tall, seem very healthy and no buds/blooms at all. How big do the cosmos have to be to bloom? I found some of these in an area that I didn't plant any of the seeds and that of course made me think I've been watering weeds. But I grew these in the past years ago and they looked familiar to me when they started growing. The last photo is the ones I found not where I planted them. I bought the seeds from Baker Creek.






Here is a photo of the ones I grew 12 years ago

I have cosmos babies that look like that

Haven't grown orange.. the purple and white can bloom very late.
Do you find these anywhere else other than where you planted your seed?

Quite sure those are indeed Cosmos sulphureus

I'm growing the yellow and orange Cosmos mix for the first time this year and my seedlings look exactly like these.

okay guys thank you! I just started getting worried cause they are nearly a foot tall and no blooms yet.



@sallyg well i was supposed to add a different photo but it didn't show up I guess. Yes I did find some in an area not where I planted the seeds, but I can't tell if the plant is entirely the same or a close look alike. I should get out and pick one and put them side by side.

Cosmos are day hour dependent plants. I can't remember exactly how many daylight hours they have to get before it kicks them into bloom. That's why it's important to plant early, I think. I may have all this mixed up!

Side by side should do it. The other suspect in my mind is ragweed- Ambrosia artemisifolia? Ragweed leaves are placed oppoosite, I think Cosmos are too. Ragweed stems are hairy, Cosmos I suspect should be smooth
https://www.illinoiswildflower...

I thought of ragweed too but decided it looked a little too tidy.

My first impression was ragweed or mugwort but looking at the stem shot, I think it could be cosmos.

Ah, the stem shot also does not give me the feeling of ragweed.

I've grown the Sulphur Cosmos for years and that is what it looks like to me. I went out and took some pictures of the cosmos that I have for comparison. Looks like I also see some zinnias in your pictures... I need to get some of those too.





As an aside, I let cosmos grow all over my property. However, in 2017 I let it go wild in the daylily bed and will never do that again! The weeds underneath and were horrible to clean up. I did enjoy seeing all the butterflies and bees buzzing around it though.

So pretty, Vickie! But it sounds like Cosmos sulphureus made you so furious! LOL!

Haha! I learned my lesson that year. . I still let a lot of it grow, but I remove a lot of it so I can still get in and weed.

These are hairy, you have to look close to see them. I'll try to get a pic of that if I can get my camera to focus that detailed.

okay I got some new photos, they are at least a foot tall and robust, no blooms, no buds that I can see.
They are definitely hairy along the stalk/stems. Shouldn't they have blooms by now? I'm growing weeds

Ragweed leaves can be either opposite or alternate, some say opposite lower switching to alternate upper. It looks like it might be doing that in one of the stem pics?

if that is the case it means I planted all these seeds and didn't get even one to actually sprout. It has been 10 years since I've grown them but was so sure it was them when they started sprouting.

Here's mine, they are the bright lights, a mix of yellow, orange and red.

Oops! Didn't load, trying again.


I'm not sure if this pic will help much.