Ah, cosmos!

I have a wonderful new (to me) variety this year, and I love it! It's shorter and more thickly branched than others I've tried, and its flowers are huge! I wish now that I'd planted some in my house gardens. I added it to my veggie patch just to attract pollinators, and now I see that it's deserving of a place right up front.

Vega Red


I'll have to get a picture of the entire plant soon - it's covered in blooms right now!

Wow! That is really nice! Where did you get the seeds?

They were a last chance special at Pinetree. It looks like they still have some available...

Enabler!

Yeah....well, I just had to order more of them so it works both ways! Knowing my luck, they'd probably come true and I wouldn't need to spring for more, but I have Seashells growing just a few feet away...

I ordered two. Among other things.

Beautiful Cosmos! How tall are they? My larkspur came up and looked really pretty with the Rue this spring... may have saved the Rue 'cause after the last time I pruned it and got a rash that lasted a month I was about to pull it all up!

Kelly, these look to be about two feet tall here...'course, it's hard to tell for sure because the cucumbers are hiding most of the plant. Still, a far cry shorter and thicker than the floppy, thin and lanky ones I usually grow. These look more like a cosmos bush.

These are still a bit droopy from last night's rain and several days of cloudy weather, but it might give you an idea. Lots and lots of buds, too.



The stems look floppy here, but they aren't once they're dry. The blooms are generally upward-facing as well.

the flower color looks like the 6 footer I had.. love that deep color

That color is fabulous.....look like nice large blooms, too. (Chelle-also love your profile photo).

here is mine.. self seeded this year.. no six footers showed up though

Great close-up Allison!

When you do get the extra tall ones, do they have really long and lean branches? Mine did, and they'd often break off; usually just before a mass of buds would have opened. Disheartening. I pulled all of my self-seeded seedlings this year...just didn't want that again this year.

no they were pretty large.. we did stake them even though we don't think they needed it.. just because we didn't want to loose it.. but the stem was huge!!

this is from 2 years ago.. 10'.. almost 11

That's such a great photo Allison

thank you.. makes me giggle.. I still have seeds from that one.. not sure if they are good anymore or not

Now that is one tall cosmos! I have seen some about 6 feet tall, but that is amazing! Cosmos is such an airy looking plant, I love it

I do remember reading about this, Allison!

That's one really tall cosmos!

I grow sunflowers - polyheaded pretty ones, because the birds and bees love them.

I always grow Salvia patens because it is really really BLUE.

Beautiful!


I didn't get my sunflowers started early this summer, but they're growing like mad now. Hopefully, they'll bloom by fall to help feed up the birds as we start heading into winter.

I think I sowed about six different varieties of them, along with some more zinnias and some pumpkin-orange marigolds.