Cosmos atrosanguineus

[maggiepie]

Oh wow, just found the first flower.
It is incredible and the smell is fabulous.
Not sure who the donor was but would like to thank them.
Now I just have to figure out how to overwinter the plants.

It's very difficult for me to get a really good pic of the flower.

[annew]

GLAD YOU LIKE IT! I OVERWINTER MINE BY PUTTING THE POT UNDER THE STAGING IN A GREENHOUSE THAT IS KEPT ABOVE -2C (OOPS SORRY CAPS LOCK WAS ON! DIDN'T MEAN TO SHOUT…) A garage or cellar would do.

[Maggi Young]

It is a beauty, Helen.  I suspect the seed might have come from Lesley Cox, or Anne Wright, who is growing the plant from seed from Lesley and was going to donate seed to the exchange if she got any.
We've talked on several occasions in the forum about this supposedly infertile plant.

Aha - as I wrote Anne has come to the fore !
Actually, it is something worth shouting about Anne!!

[maggiepie]

Anne, I have these planted in ground so will have to dig them up and pot them.
Unfortunately, my garage is not heated so it gets down to around -25C or worse in there in winter. I can overwinter hosta and clematis babies in there though.
My basement is also unheated and lowest we let it get is around +7C
Do you think they could be left until foliage withers and then save the tubers?
Am actually hoping I might be able to get some seeds from at least this first flower, how long do they take to mature?
Once again thanks for the seeds, I'll thank Lesley too just in case.

Maggi, I had these growing in Oz but the ones I had were nowhere near as dark as this flower and definitely did not have the same scent.
I got Edgar to smell the flower without saying anything else to him, Chocolate, he says and he doesn't have a very strong sense of smell.
I love being able to show some of my successes with seeds.
 

[David Pilling]

My experience and comments I've read suggest that Cosmos tubers do best if stored over winter in potting media - e.g. kept in their pots. They seem to be more sensitive than dahlias in that respect.

[Lesley Cox]

Yes, must be Anne's seed, I sent mine to Carlos Magdelena at Kew (no response)!

But a fertile strain seems to be getting spread around now so that's good news. I leave mine in the garden but this year covered it with pea straw and the plants are quite hard underground so I think should be through reasonably soon. Of course Boris and his two ladies have pecked merry hell out of the place where the Cosmos are planted so time till tell. It's lovely to have fresh eggs every day but there's a price to pay in damage to the garden. We can't fence off everything or they wouldn't be free range.

[annew]

Helen, you might find you need 2 clones to get seeds. Good luck anyway!

[pehe]

Oh wow, just found the first flower.
It is incredible and the smell is fabulous.
Not sure who the donor was but would like to thank them.
Now I just have to figure out how to overwinter the plants.

It's very difficult for me to get a really good pic of the flower.

Helen, well done!

I was lucky to get some seeds from the SRGC exchange too. Thanks Anne!
Until now I have only had the commercial clone, and never had seeds.
I have grown them in a pot. After the very first frost the pot was moved to a frost free greenhouse and kept dry until spring. That works well.
This spring the seeds was sown as soon as I got the seeds. The pot was placed in my bedroom (18^oC) and germinated within 2 weeks. 2-3 weeks later they were replanted - one plant in each pot. In April/May they were moved to an unheated greenhouse. In June they was replanted once more and placed outside.
They have flowered since the start of July and are still flowering. In the end of July the first seeds was mature.

1. Seedlings in March
2. My plants July the 17^th. The pot to the left in the front row are the commercial clone. It flowered about 3 weeks after the seedlings. This clone have been pollinated by the seedlings and have set seeds for the first time.
3. Flower the same date (And Helen yes, they are difficult to photograph)
4. Flower 1 week ago


Poul

[pehe]

Now it is 'pay back time' - I am collecting seeds for the seed exchange and have already collected quite a lot.

1. Successful pollination
2. Seeds ready for harvesting

Poul

[annew]

 

[Maggi Young]

See Roma's romantic cosmos pic here : http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=10891.msg283460#msg283460

[pehe]

And see Roma's post here http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=10812.45. His Cosmos is apparently hardy!

Poul

[maggiepie]

I have grown them in a pot. After the very first frost the pot was moved to a frost free greenhouse and kept dry until spring. That works well.
This spring the seeds was sown as soon as I got the seeds. The pot was placed in my bedroom (18^oC) and germinated within 2 weeks. 2-3 weeks later they were replanted - one plant in each pot. In April/May they were moved to an unheated greenhouse. In June they was replanted once more and placed outside.
They have flowered since the start of July and are still flowering. In the end of July the first seeds was mature.

1. Seedlings in March
2. My plants July the 17^th. The pot to the left in the front row are the commercial clone. It flowered about 3 weeks after the seedlings. This clone have been pollinated by the seedlings and have set seeds for the first time.
3. Flower the same date (And Helen yes, they are difficult to photograph)
4. Flower 1 week ago


Poul

Thanks for the information, Poul.
Think I had better dig up at least one of the plants and move to a pot.
I have them in two places but think there are several seedlings in each spot. I germinated my seeds in a baggie with vermiculite and then transplanted into a couple of pots and did not separate them .
They looked pretty miserable in the pots but once I planted them in the garden they really took off and looked much happier.
Will try wintering in basement.
If they survive I can probably separate them next spring before planting out again.

[Lesley Cox]

What great news all those posts are! Seed everywhere. One tiny thing to watch out for. When handling the seed, beware of the little prickly bits at the top end of the seed. They can get into the skin or under the fingernail and hurt like....H!