How to Grow Mexican Aster

Cosmos Germination Information

Cosmos is the botanical name for Mexican Aster
Cosmos Seed Germination How to Sow Cosmos:
  • Sow outdoors where plants are to grow when danger of frost has past
  • Sow indoors 5-7 weeks before planting outside
  • Cover the seeds with four times their thickness in soil
  • Maintain a temperature within the medium of 68-75° F during germination
  • Germination takes 5-10 days
  • When sowing seed outdoors, we recommend a maximum planting depth of 4X the width of the seed

How to Grow Cosmos:
Spacing: Plant 9-24 inches apart in full sun in a dry, infertile soil with excellent drainage

Additional Care: Drought tolerant. Stake taller plants

Appearance and Use:

These attractive, quick-growing plants are great for background planting, beds, and borders with masses of colorful, daisylike blooms fo cutting. Upright, sun-loving annual with finely cut foliage and an abundance of vibrant blooms on slender stems



C. bipinnatus: 11/2 - 5 feet tall. Single or double. 21/2- inch blooms of white, pink, rose, and crimson sport tubular petals and a daisylike form. Where summers are cool, the blooms continue from July to frost


C. sulphureus: 1-2 feet tall. Double and semi-double, 2- inch blooms of yellow to orange are borne from July to frost. An ideal bedding plant that thrives in heat

About Cosmos:
Pronunciation:  kos’mos
Lifecycle:  Annual
Origination: Asteraceae; native to Mexico
Common Name: Mexican Aster