Container gardening - seed to pot questions

Latimer · May 2020

Hi all

I popped around to my parents yesterday for a socially distant chat and while there picked up a few of the extra Cosmos and Zinnia seedlings my dad had.

Cosmos Dazzler 120cm x 50cm
Zinnia Orange King 75cm x 25cm

Two questions:

If i want to plant the cosmos into individual pots, eventually, do i just plant these into the final pot once they've hardened off or do i need to grow them up through increasing sizes of pots?

Second, what should the eventual final size of pot be for plants this size? The zinnia I'll probably plant 2 or 3 per pot.

Thanks

Kili · May 2020

Unless your cosmos are the dwarf variety they are a thug which will overpower and smother anything else you have in the pot. There best off planted in a border if you have one or, the biggest pot's you can find.

The cosmos in your picture I would just plant straight out if they have been hardened off and pinch out the tops as looking at your location I would say your far south enough not to worry about frosts now.

Zinnia I didnt have much success with but, they were in a north facing border so a sunnier position in pots they might do better.

Latimer · May 2020

Thanks @Kili. When you say the biggest i can find are we talking 2ft diameter pots? Bigger?

Kili · May 2020

You can use a two foot pot, put a couple of the cosmos in there and if you've got any trailing plants (Lobelia, Petunia) put those round the edges. Don't put the Zinna in the same pot as the Cosmos as they will crowd them out.

The dwarf cosmos are best for pots as the standard cosmos can get quite big and overshadow anything below it.

Latimer · May 2020

Thanks @Kili

Container gardening - seed to pot questions

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