Imagine finding a flower as good as gold. The precious flower was a golden cosmos from the desert of Mexico.
History of Golden Cosmos
When Spanish explorers were looking for riches in Mexico to send back to Spain, one of the treasures they found was the golden cosmos flower, Cosmos sulphureus. Priests grew the flower in mission gardens in Mexico. Legend reports the priests named it ‘cosmos’ for the Greek work ‘kosmos’ meaning ‘order.’
In 1789 the flower made its way to England with the wife of the Spanish ambassador to Spain. Half a century lapsed before the golden cosmos reached the US indirectly from England and Spain and directly via Mexico.
Today the Mexican native, golden cosmos aka sulfur cosmos, has naturalized in USDA hardiness zones 3-10. Cosmos are considered foolproof flowers to germinate and grow for versatility, dependability and very little work.
Portrait of Golden Cosmos
The herbaceous annual in the composite family has a hub of disc flowers surrounded by semi-double or double rays like a daisy. Flowers are 2-2.5 inches in diameter and vary from yellow, gold, orange to scarlet in color. The fury of fall flowering can bring scores of flowers on one plant.
Leaves are pinnate and lobed and look very much like marigold leaves rather than the fine fernlike leaves of cosmos bipinnatus, a close relative.
Strong central stems branch out and upward. Since stems can reach 6-7 feet in height, plants act as support to each other in windy conditions.
Growing Conditions
Golden cosmos is genetically adapted to its alkaline desert native habitat. In the home garden its needs are minimal: a sunny location and average to poor well drained soils with average to dry moisture. Plants need moisture to become established but are drought tolerant as mature specimens. A pH range of 6.0-8.5 is ideal.
Horticulturists observe that if golden cosmos is in an overly fertile soil, fertilized on a regular schedule, or in damp conditions, performance is diminished. Too much moisture can lead to root and stem rot. Too much fertilizer inhibits flowering.
Golden cosmos is a short day plant, which is why it blooms most prolifically after summer solstice in the northern hemisphere when the days start getting shorter and darkness is longer. Expect flowering until hard frosts.
Pinching off dead blossoms promotes continuous blooming. If flowerheads remain, cosmos will self-seed but does not become a nuisance. Leaving the star like clusters of brown seeds in seedheads, gives birds, especially finches, an autumn delight.
Propagation is by seed in spring. Seed can be sown directly in the ground after the last spring frost date and when temperatures are 68°F or above. Seed takes 7-10 days to germinate and flowers appear 50-60 days after germination.
Landscape Uses
Golden cosmos grows quickly to fill space with warm color. The relaxed free-form cosmos is traditionally found in cottage gardens and cutting gardens.
Since butterflies appreciate their generous nectar supply, golden cosmos is a flawless choice for a butterfly garden. Its tall stature places it at the back of a mixed border but its golden beams won’t be hidden.
Many gardeners use golden cosmos in wildflower gardens and meadows. Some southern state highway departments are experimenting in seeding roadsides and medians with blends of composites including sulfur cosmos, tickseed sunflower, and purple coneflower.
Companion plants to bed with golden cosmos include cleome, purple coneflower, gomphrena, Verbena bonariensis, lantana, larkspur, Mexican bush sage, wild ageratum and zinnia.
Cosmos Cultivars
Horticulturists are always trying to improve on Mother Nature. The following cultivars of Cosmos sulphureus are available from online seed catalogs:
- ‘Bright Lights’ – mixed colors on 4-foot tall stems
- ‘Brightness Mixed’ – warm color mix
- ‘Cosmic’ series – double flowers in yellow, gold, and orange
- ‘Diablo’ – highly floriferous 2-3 feet tall scarlet strain
- ‘Indonesian Kennikura’ – 3 inch yellow-orange flowers
- ‘Klondike’ – intensely bright orange flowers on 18-36 inch stems
- ‘Ladybird’ series – dwarf 12-15 inches tall
- ‘Lemon Bird’ – a dwarf 12 inch high plant with lemon-yellow flowers
- ‘Lemon Twist’ – sulfur-yellow flowers on 2.5-foot stems
- ‘Polidor’ – mixture of orange, lemon and red shades on bushy 30 inch tall stems
- ‘Red Crest’ – deep yellow-orange double flowers brushed with red tips
- ‘Sunny Gold’– 2 inch wide flowers on 2-foot tall stems
- ‘Sunny Red’ – scarlet red flowers all season long on 1-2 feet high plant
- ‘Sunrise’ – hundreds of yellow and orange blossoms on 4-6 feet tall plant
Children Practice Conservation With Cosmos
Growing cosmos opens channels of conservation of natural resources to children. The easy fast growing flower is a perfect introduction to restoring wildflowers to home and school landscapes.
There are two simple ways children can seed wildflower plots with cosmos. The first way is with seed packets of cosmos. The contents of a seed packet are mixed with an equal amount of sand. Children broadcast their mix across a freshly cultivated plot in spring.
The second method is to create seed balls with golden cosmos or a mix of golden cosmos and other wildflower seeds embedded inside. Dry seed balls are dispersed over a selected site. Reseeding eroded, distressed or fallow ground with cosmos is exciting and gratifying for children.
Simulate the adventure of a conquistador by finding and growing a flower as good as golden cosmos in your homeland.
Sources
- Aggie Horticulture. “ Cosmos Produces Cosmic Beauty.” Texas Agri-Life Extension Service, Texas A&M University online
- Armitage, Allan M. Armitage’s Manual of Annual, Biennial, and Half-Hardy Perennials. Portland: Timber Press, 2001.
- Winter, Norman. Tough-as-Nail Plants for Southern Gardens. Oxford: University of Mississippi Press, 2003.
Arlene Marturano - Arlene Marturano, an educator, consultant, master gardener, and writer advocates gardens as a context and gardening as a tool for ...
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