Cosmos: The Self-Sowing Annual for Endless Summer Color

Cosmos (C. bipinnatus) must be one of the easiest annuals ever. Sow seeds once, and pink or white flowers return year after year from their own seeds.

Flowers (mostly singles) start blooming in early summer and continue for months until hard frost. The Sensation strain is best known, but cosmos come in many forms—rolled or frilled petals—and a range of solid colors and stripes.

Our Favorites

• 'Candy Stripe' – White flowers with crimson borders/stripes, 3–3½ ft tall.
• 'Daydream' – Rosy pink petals fading to pale pink edges, 3 ft tall.
• Psyche Mix – Semidouble blooms, 3 ft tall.
• Seashell Mix – Rolled petals in creamy white and shades of red, rose, pale seashell pink, to 3½ ft tall.
• Sonata Mix – Dwarf 2 ft, many 3-inch single blooms in white, pink, mixes.
• 'Versailles Tetra' – 4-inch pink flowers with darker shading around bright yellow eye, to 3 ft tall.

Yellow Cosmos (C. sulfureus)

Brings yellow and red flowers into the clan, but seeds don't germinate as easily and flowers tend to be smaller (2 in.). Many gardeners find it easiest to grow from nursery seedlings.

Our Favorites

• Bright Lights Mix – Large (2½ in.) flowers of yellow, gold, orange, or scarlet on 3–4 ft plants.
• 'Lemon Twist' – Clear lemon yellow flowers on stems to 2½ ft tall.
• Ladybird Mix – Only 1 ft tall.
• Sunny Orange-Red and Sunny Gold – Top out at 15 inches.