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Cosmos bipinnatus
Also called Mexican Aster, Annual Cosmos, Cosmos, Common Cosmos
Garden cosmos is a half-hardy annual daisy grown for its showy pink, purple or white flowers and finely cut foliage. Give it full sun and avoid overly wet, windy or cold conditions, as its stems can break.
Cosmos bipinnatus, commonly called the garden cosmos, Mexican aster or cosmea, is a medium-sized flowering herbaceous plant in the daisy family Asteraceae, native to the Americas. The species and its varieties and cultivars are popular as ornamental plants in temperate climate gardens.
Growth characteristics of this plant include:
Germination takes between 7 and 10 days at the optimal temperature of 75 °F (24 °C); flowering begins between 60 and 90 days after germination
According to Plants of the World Online this plant is native to Mexico. However, other sources list it as native to the United States and Canada. Since it is used as an ornamental plant in many countries and prone to naturalization, it is an invasive plant in many areas of the world. It has naturalized in scattered locations across North America, South America, the West Indies, Italy, Australia, and Asia, where it is a garden escape (introduced species) and in some habitats becoming a weed.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cosmos bipinnatus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
