Now that the first of the little early crocuses—Crocus chrysanthus—have opened their petals, I am opening the seed catalogs to put together my orders. Of course, I peruse websites and visit garden centers as well, but I cling to the notion that there is nothing like catalog browsing to whet the gardening appetite.
Every year certain plants catch my eye, drawing me to them the way magpies are drawn to shiny objects. Right now I am fixated on cosmos, specifically Cosmos bipinnatus, the much loved and widely planted annual garden variety. Cosmos bear their summer daisies in shades of white, pink and purple. Another cosmos species, Cosmos sulphureus, has the same daisy-like flowers as the bipinnatus varieties, but those flowers bloom in brighter colors, including reds, yellows and oranges.
For years I have grown white cosmos in my front garden as an airy accompaniment to the roses, yarrow and coneflowers. The cosmos self seed, though not as readily as really profligate annuals, like larkspur and nigella. Still, in years when I forget to sow new batches of seed, I generally end up with some white cosmos anyway.
While browsing one of the catalogs I was struck by two new bipinnatus varieties, ‘Double Cranberry’ and ‘Yellow Garden’. ‘Double Cranberry’ actually looks closer to deep rose or cerise in the catalog photo and it is very appealing—almost like a small peony. The plants are tall, topping out at between three and four feet, with the characteristic feathery cosmos leaves. ‘Double Cranberry’ is available from at least one vendor as a plant, rather than as packaged seeds. In looking at online offerings, I noticed that many seed vendors are selling a double Cosmos bipinnatus variety called ‘Double Click Cranberries’. The photos show flowers that look exactly like those of ‘Double Cranberry,’ so I assume they are all the same plants. The confusion probably has to do with the usual plant naming issues—trademarks, patents, proprietary rights, etc. What appeals to me and most likely to others, is the idea of a big beautiful, double-flowered cosmos in a shade of red or deep rose. Whether you buy seeds or starter plants of ‘Double Cranberry’ or ‘Double Click Cranberries’, you will get that.
Existing yellow cosmos are bright chromium yellow, which is wonderful in “hot” colored garden beds. The ‘Yellow Garden’ variety has soft, butter-yellow petals with a white eye zone around each yellow center. They are also tall and free-blooming and would work well with blue and blue-purple flowered annuals and perennials like ‘Johnson’s Blue’ hardy geraniums, purple coneflowers and delphiniums or larkspur. There is no name confusion with ‘Yellow Garden’, so the only thing you have to worry about is planting seeds in a timely fashion. ‘Yellow Garden’ takes somewhat longer than other cosmos to flower from seed or starter plants, so get seeds in the ground as soon as all danger of frost has passed. Alternately, start the seeds indoors about a month before the last frost date for your area and move them outside when the weather warms up. If you don’t know your region’s last frost date, go to the handy chart at http://www.almanac.com/content/frost-chart-united-states
Over the past decade or so, with the increase in small space and container gardening, dwarf cosmos varieties have gotten more publicity than taller types. The dwarf forms have their uses, but it is nice to have something a bit larger for the middles of beds and borders. Tall cosmos, like ‘Double Cranberry’ and ‘Yellow Garden’ can also be grown in the center of a large pot, with lower growing plants in front of or surrounding them. Most cosmos do not need staking unless they are planted in spots where high winds are a problem.
Cosmos benefit from regular moisture during the growing season and frequent deadheading to remove spent blooms and encourage repeat flowering. If the plants get too leggy and attenuated in mid summer, cut them back by one third, feed with fish emulsion or other organic fertilizer and water well. They will spring back and bloom until the first frost. If you stop deadheading in the fall, you may lose the last few flowers, but you will gain a few self sown plants.
Late nineteenth century poet and salon hostess Celia Thaxter planted cosmos among the old-fashioned flowers in her fabled summer gardens on Appledore Island, off the New Hampshire Coast. American Impressionist artist Childe Hassam immortalized those gardens, cosmos and all. You can get the same effect with a little effort and very little cost. To buy ‘Double Cranberry’, ‘Yellow Garden’ and a variety of other interesting annuals, contact Annie’s Annuals and Perennials, 801 Chesley Avenue, Richmond, CA 94801; (888) 266-4370, www.anniesannuals.com. Free catalog.