Mine are in the conservatory (loads of light) and have still gone a bit leggy. Second lot too as I abondoned the first for the same reason. Might put them outside for a bit today as the weather is good and it's not cold.
Mine always get "leggy" - but bury them up to their shoulders when pricking out and they do fine Especially if you pinch them out to within an inch of their life a la verdun
Only 3 of mine survived, they too were leggy so planted deep when pricked out, they look ok now outside, will sow more ( if I can find any more room in the house among the sweet peas, , larkspur, sweet rocket , broccoli, courgettes ...)
I'm like Lyn - I pinch Cosmos back several times - sometimes right into June / July when there's lots of other stuff going on in the garden & I am less in need of theflowers. I find this makes a much sturdier plant which lasts well & flowers through to the first frosts. Ones which are only pinched once or twice seem to go quite leggy & look quite messy come August.
This year I am trying some double Cosmos (snowball or puff ball? - something like that). They looked almost like old fashioned rose heads on the pac so I had to try them.
Anybody else grown them? Are they as good and easy as the regular cosmos?
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
They are good, but the bees cant get in until they have opened up quite a lot. You do need to regularly deadhead as I don't think there were so many flowers on them as the common ones.
Last year I got my cosmos up to about 5ft, on tree trunks and as soon as they flowered we had strong winds and broke them down, this year I am only growing dwarf ones, courtesy of the seed swap thread.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Thanks for that info Lyn - I confess I hadn't thought about the effect on bees - maybe I'll stick in a few of the 'normal' ones too so I can do a direct compare & contrast.
I usually grow the shorter varieties but still find (in spite of constantly pinching them back for the the first couple of months) that they become huge plants. I reduced the best ones by about 18" in mid Sept last year & found that really kept them going through autumn with lots of new buds. They finally succumbed mid to late November.
The only annuals I always grow
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
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Mine are in the conservatory (loads of light) and have still gone a bit leggy. Second lot too as I abondoned the first for the same reason. Might put them outside for a bit today as the weather is good and it's not cold.
Have a daylight lamp (as I get S.A.D. in the winter) I expect a couple of hours of that might help.
They are gorgeous Fishy, I can't wait to to see them altogether, I think it will look beautiful
Mine always get "leggy" - but bury them up to their shoulders when pricking out and they do fine
Especially if you pinch them out to within an inch of their life a la verdun
Well a day in the 'lightbox' and no collapsed seedlings or leaning towards the window.
Chicky I think I might do the pinching out this year. What does young master Verdun recommend?
Is it just the top set of leaves?
Only 3 of mine survived, they too were leggy so planted deep when pricked out, they look ok now outside, will sow more ( if I can find any more room in the house among the sweet peas, , larkspur, sweet rocket , broccoli, courgettes ...)
Pinch out the middle when you have about 4 pairs of true leaves, pick off all flower buds until you have a big plant.
This year I am trying some double Cosmos (snowball or puff ball? - something like that). They looked almost like old fashioned rose heads on the pac so I had to try them.
Anybody else grown them? Are they as good and easy as the regular cosmos?
They are good, but the bees cant get in until they have opened up quite a lot. You do need to regularly deadhead as I don't think there were so many flowers on them as the common ones.
Last year I got my cosmos up to about 5ft, on tree trunks and as soon as they flowered we had strong winds and broke them down, this year I am only growing dwarf ones, courtesy of the seed swap thread.
Thanks for that info Lyn - I confess I hadn't thought about the effect on bees - maybe I'll stick in a few of the 'normal' ones too so I can do a direct compare & contrast.
I usually grow the shorter varieties but still find (in spite of constantly pinching them back for the the first couple of months) that they become huge plants. I reduced the best ones by about 18" in mid Sept last year & found that really kept them going through autumn with lots of new buds. They finally succumbed mid to late November.
The only annuals I always grow