Cosmos Cosimo Collarette

This variety of Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) is absolutely unique with its double, finely fringed flowers. It offers a beautiful palette of colors ranging from snow white to soft light pink.

Additionally, it grows to a smaller height (roughly 40–60 cm), which makes it an ideal choice for growing in containers as well as on the edges of flower beds. It is a great and undemanding choice for beginners.

If you sow the seeds during the spring, you can look forward to the first fringed flowers as early as June. Cosmos are famous for their extremely long flowering period – with proper care and deadheading, they will decorate your garden continuously until October, until they are scorched by the first autumn frosts.

You don't need to worry at all; this is a completely safe plant! Cosmos are not toxic to people, dogs, cats, or other pets.

On the contrary, their petals are even considered edible and are sometimes used to romantically decorate summer salads or cakes. While they don't have a strong culinary flavor, they are a feast for the eyes in the garden and will attract plenty of helpful bees and butterflies.

Unfortunately, Cosmos flowers are not suitable for drying at all. Their petals are too fragile and delicate, so they lose their shape and color during the drying process and fall off very quickly. For winter dried arrangements, you will need to grow other species, such as Strawflower or statice.

Certainly! This variety is absolutely ideal for cutting. Its fringed, white-pink flowers look fantastic in summer bouquets. A great rule applies here: the more flowers you cut, the more new ones the plant will produce. In a vase, with regular water changes, they will stay in perfect condition for about 5 to 7 days.

You have two options. The easiest is direct sowing into the flowerbed, which we recommend doing from May to July, once the danger of the last frost has passed. Sow the seeds at a spacing of 20–30 cm with 1 to 2 seeds in each spot.

If you prefer starting them indoors, begin in April, but ideally no sooner than 2–4 weeks before planting them outdoors. Cosmos germinate and grow incredibly fast (sprouting in 4–8 days at 18–22 °C), and they would quickly run out of space in a seed tray.

Yes, for this variety, we recommend lightly covering the seeds with a thin layer of soil after sowing. This helps them maintain the moisture needed for quick and successful germination. However, make sure the layer of substrate is not too thick.

Cosmos are true sun-lovers. They will thrive best in full sun, where they will produce the most flowers and have strong stems. They can tolerate partial shade, but keep in mind that less light can lead to leggier plants and slightly weaker blooming.

Cosmos are generally very hardy plants and rarely suffer from diseases. Their biggest enemy is usually slugs and snails, which find young, sprouting plants in the flowerbed incredibly tasty. We therefore recommend keeping a close eye on the bed after direct sowing. Occasionally, aphids may appear on the stems, which you can easily manage with a gentle wash of water.

This is an annual plant, which means it dies off completely with the first frosts. But don't despair! Cosmos readily and easily self-seed. If you leave a few dried flower heads on the plant in the autumn, it is almost certain that new little seedlings will surprise you in the same spot in the spring through so-called self-seeding.

This problem usually occurs when Cosmos is planted in soil that is too heavily fertilized with a high nitrogen content. The plant then essentially 'goes crazy' and invests all its energy into massive green growth at the expense of bud formation. Cosmos much prefer leaner soil, so avoid heavy fertilization.