Airy daisies on ferny foliage: dwarf ‘Sonata’ for pots and front borders, tall ‘Sensation’ for the back, doubles ‘Double Click Snow Puff’ and ‘Cupcakes’, bicolor ‘Capriola’ — and the tender perennial chocolate cosmos ‘Chocamocha’. Spring planting, with a second show from a September planting.
Cosmos are the flowers that make a bed look effortless: single daisies in white, pink, carmine and red floating above fine, feathery foliage, blooming for months on almost no fertilizer and attracting every bee and butterfly in the neighborhood. In Queen Creek they are a spring crop — planted February through April, blooming until real heat — with a second planting in September that flowers until frost. Chocolate cosmos is the exception: a tuberous perennial with velvety maroon, cocoa-scented flowers.
We commonly carry the ‘Sonata’ series in white, carmine, red shades and mix, ‘Sensation Mix’, ‘Double Click Snow Puff’, ‘Cupcakes’ and ‘Capriola Bicolor’, and the chocolate cosmos ‘Chocamocha’. The rest of the color tables are on our Annual Flowers & Foliage page.
These are the cosmos varieties we commonly carry. Availability changes week to week and season to season, so call (480) 987-3308 or stop in to see what’s on the bench today.
The dwarf cosmos: 20–24 inches, bushy, early and self-supporting, in white, pink and carmine. The one for pots and the front of a bed.
‘Sonata’ in pure white.
‘Sonata’ in deep carmine-rose.
‘Sonata’ in red to deep rose shades.
The classic tall cosmos, four feet, in white, pink and crimson — for the back of a border or a cutting row. Stake or mass-plant against spring wind.
Fully double, ruffled white flowers on three-foot plants; a cut-flower variety.
Flowers whose petals fuse into a fluted cup like a paper baking case, in white and blush. Three feet.
White petals with a deep pink edge and picotee on a mid-height plant.
a tender perennial
Cosmos atrosanguineus ‘Chocamocha’: velvety dark maroon flowers that smell of cocoa, on a compact tuberous perennial to a foot. Afternoon shade, good drainage; goes dormant in winter and returns in spring.
Looking for one that isn’t listed? Ask — we can usually suggest a close match or tell you when it tends to come around.
The care tag was written somewhere else. This is the Queen Creek version.
Set out annual cosmos from mid-February through April, after frost. They bloom from April until the heat stops them, usually late June or July. A second planting in September blooms from October until the first frost. Chocolate cosmos goes in fall or spring and returns each year from its tuber.
Ordinary, even poor, well-drained soil. Rich soil and fertilizer produce six feet of foliage and no flowers — the most common cosmos complaint. Skip the compost, skip the feed beyond a light dose at planting, and they bloom their heads off.
Tall ‘Sensation’, ‘Double Click’ and ‘Cupcakes’ need stakes, a ring, or close planting so they hold each other up against March and April wind. Deadhead or cut for the vase every few days; it doubles the bloom. Let the last flowers seed for volunteers.
Full sun. Cosmos in shade grow tall, floppy and sparse. Afternoon shade in June extends the spring planting a few weeks. Chocolate cosmos prefers morning sun and afternoon shade year-round here.
Moderate: every three to four days in beds in spring, daily for pots by May, weekly once established in cool weather. Cosmos are drought-tolerant once rooted and dislike soggy soil. Water at the base.
Aphids on buds — hose them off; the flowers attract the ladybirds and hoverflies that finish the job. Spider mites in June heat. Frost kills annual cosmos; chocolate cosmos dies back and returns from the tuber if the soil drains. All cosmos are non-toxic to cats and dogs.
Snap a photo of the spot — sun direction, wall color, pot size — and we’ll pick a season-correct combination with you. Advice is free.
Annuals succeed or fail on what’s under them. We stock planting mix and compost for beds, potting mix for containers, bloom fertilizers including Tony’s Magic Mix and Magic Flower, starter fertilizer, drip fittings and frost cloth for the cold nights. The pottery yard has glazed and terracotta pots from 4-inch to whiskey-barrel size, window boxes and hanging baskets, and soil and mulch is sold by the bag or by the yard.
Mid-February through April for a spring-to-early-summer bloom, and again in September for fall. Chocolate cosmos is a perennial planted in spring or fall.
Too much fertilizer or too-rich soil, or not enough sun. Stop feeding, and next time plant it in lean soil in full sun.
Every three to four days in beds in spring, daily in pots by May, weekly in cool weather once established. It tolerates drought better than wet feet.
Yes — ‘Sensation’ and the doubles reach three to four feet and blow over in spring wind. Stake them or plant closely so they support each other. ‘Sonata’ stands on its own.
Yes, on a warm afternoon — a cocoa-vanilla scent from the dark maroon flowers. It is a tuberous perennial that wants afternoon shade and good drainage here.
Yes, cosmos are non-toxic to cats and dogs.
Cosmos live on the annuals tables; any staff member can point you to them. Locally owned, and a short drive from San Tan Valley, Gilbert, Chandler and Mesa.