Yellow Cosmos
Cosmos sulphureus. ASTERACEAE (COMPOSITAE).
Planting and Growing Yellow Cosmos
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow yellow cosmos in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of yellow cosmos
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for yellow cosmos
- Season of bloom and planting time for yellow cosmos
- When, how deep, and where to plant yellow cosmos
- How to plant yellow cosmos
- Watering, fertilizing, care, and pests or diseases of yellow cosmos
- Landscape and container uses of yellow cosmos
- Comments about yellow cosmos and its features
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Growing Yellow Cosmos
Several cultivars of upright, branching or bushy annual herbs, 6–10 ft. (1.8–3 m) tall. Shiny, green, feathery, divided leaves, to 5 in. (13 cm) long, with narrow leaflets, to 1 in. (25 mm) long.
Common cultivars include Cosmos sulphureus ‘Dwarf Klondike’ and ‘Sunny’.
See also Cosmos, Cosmos bipinnatus, a closely related annual, and Black Cosmos, Cosmos atrosanguineus, a closely related perennial plant, both with similar care needs.
Planting and Care Guide
Blooms
Showy, gold, yellow, flat-faced flowers, 2–3 in. (50–75 mm) wide, with bright yellow centers and scalloped petals, in summer–autumn.
Best Climates
Self-seeding, zones 5–11.
Soil Type and Fertility
Dry, well-drained, sandy soil. Fertility: Average–low. 7.0–7.5 pH. Best blooms in low-fertility soil.
Where and How to Plant
Spring in full to filtered sun, 1 ft. (30 cm) apart, after soil warms. Avoid transplanting.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep damp; allow soil surface to dry between waterings. Drought tolerant. Avoid fertilizing. Deadhead spent flowers to promote bloom. Stake and protect from wind. Propagate by seed.
About This Plant
Good choice for accents, backgrounds, beds, borders in cottage, heritage, meadow, seaside gardens. Attracts birds, butterflies. Good for cutting. Pest and disease resistant.