About Cosmos
Cosmos is the flower that made cutting gardens popular. Simple open faces in white, pink and magenta float on wiry stems above feathery foliage, and the more you cut it the harder it flowers, right through until frost. It is October's birth flower.
You will rarely find it in a florist. The stems are too fine and the petals too delicate to survive shipping, so like zinnias it belongs to farm stands, markets and anyone who grows their own.
Primary Meanings
- Order and Harmony: From the Greek kosmos, meaning ordered world
- Peace: The Victorian association, from its calm simplicity
- Modesty: An unassuming flower on a tall plant
- Joy in Love: Traditionally given between new couples
Cosmos Colors and Their Meanings
White Cosmos
Purity; Purity is also a variety name
Pink Cosmos
Gentle affection; the most common
Magenta Cosmos
Intensity; the strongest shade
Chocolate Cosmos
A different species that smells of cocoa
Apricot Cosmos
Newer bred shades, much sought after
Popular Cosmos Types
Sensation
The tall classic, pink and white, very free flowering
Double Click
Fully double, ruffled, longer lasting cut
Cupcake
Fused petals forming a shallow cup
Chocolate Cosmos
Cosmos atrosanguineus, deep maroon and genuinely cocoa-scented
Care Instructions
Cut in Bud
Pick as the bud shows colour; open flowers do not travel.
Shallow Water
Fine hollow stems rot in depth.
Deadhead
Removing spent flowers keeps a plant producing for months.
Cool Room
Heat finishes them in a day.
Best Occasions for Cosmos
- October Birthdays: One of the two birth flowers for the month
- Cutting Gardens: The flower most associated with growing your own
- Summer Weddings: For a loose meadow style, if grown locally
- Market Bouquets: A staple of farm stand bunches
Interesting Cosmos Facts
- The name comes from the Greek for ordered world, after the neat petal arrangement
- It is one of two birth flowers for October, with the marigold
- Cutting it makes the plant flower harder, so growers pick daily
- Chocolate cosmos is a different species and genuinely smells of cocoa
- It self-seeds so freely that one planting often becomes permanent
How to Buy Good Cosmos
Buy or cut it in bud, when the bud has coloured and just begun to crack open. A fully open cosmos has two or three days at most and will not survive being carried far. The stems should be firm rather than floppy, and the feathery foliage bright green. Because it is almost always sold locally, ask when it was picked; cosmos cut that morning behaves completely differently from cosmos cut two days ago.
Season, Availability and What Drives the Price
Midsummer through to the first frost, and only from local growers. It cannot be shipped, so there is no imported supply and no winter version. Where it is sold it is cheap, because a single plant produces relentlessly and growers have more than they can use. It arrives at markets from about July and disappears the week the weather turns.
What to Use Instead
Zinnias cover the same season and last considerably longer. Daisies give a similar simple open face year-round. For the airy, floating quality specifically, ammi and nigella both work in a mixed bunch. Anemones give the same flat face in spring. Nothing else has the fine feathery foliage, which is half the effect and the reason cosmos looks like a meadow rather than a bouquet.
Safety Around Pets and Skin
Cosmos is not toxic to cats, dogs or horses and is not on the ASPCA hazard list. It is one of the safest flowers to have around animals or children, and the petals are edible, though they taste of very little.
Florist Tips for Cosmos
Cut it and it flowers harder
Cosmos responds to cutting by producing more buds. A plant picked every few days will flower for months; one left alone sets seed and stops.
Buy it in bud, always
Open cosmos does not travel and does not last. A bucket of tight coloured buds is worth far more than a bucket of open flowers.
Chocolate cosmos really does smell of chocolate
It is a different species, deep maroon, and the scent is unmistakable on a warm day. It is also sterile and propagated by tuber, which is why it costs more.
Common Questions About Cosmos
Why can't I buy cosmos from a florist?
The stems are too fine and the flowers too fragile to survive shipping and cold storage, so there is no commercial import trade. It reaches you through farm stands, markets and cutting gardens, or not at all.
Does chocolate cosmos smell of chocolate?
Yes, genuinely. Cosmos atrosanguineus is a separate species with deep maroon flowers and a clear cocoa scent, strongest in warm weather. It is sterile, so it is grown from tubers rather than seed and costs more than ordinary cosmos.
How long does cut cosmos last?
Four to seven days if cut in bud and kept cool. Cut open, expect two or three. It is a short-lived flower and that is part of why it stays a garden plant.