Late September. The tomatoes are sulking, the beans are finished, the summer border looks tired. And yet one plant is still dancing, waist-high and weightless, covered in pink, white and crimson saucers that sway at the slightest breeze. In Japan they call it akizakura — “autumn cherry blossom”.
Most of us file cosmos under “English cottage garden”. But its European story begins somewhere far closer to home: in Vienna, planted in the imperial gardens of Schönbrunn, more than 225 years ago.
From Mexico to Madrid — and on to Schönbrunn
Cosmos is a Mexican plant. It belongs to the daisy family (Asteraceae), alongside sunflowers, dahlias and zinnias. What looks like a single flower is really a flower head: petal-like ray florets around a disc of tiny tubular florets.
In 1789, seeds from Mexico reached the Royal Botanical Garden in Madrid. Two years later, in 1791, the botanist Antonio José Cavanilles formally described Cosmos bipinnatus and its yellow cousin C. sulphureus from plants grown there.
Now the Viennese twist. In the 1790s, Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin illustrated both species from plants growing in Vienna. In 1798 he published the pink garden cosmos in his great work on the rare plants of Schönbrunn — under the name Coreopsis parviflora. A Mexican flower, painted in the Habsburg emperor’s garden: that is the earliest chapter of cosmos in Central Europe.
What’s in a name?
Kosmos is Greek for order, harmony and ornament — the same root as “cosmetics”. It suits a flower of such neat, symmetrical rays. The species name bipinnatus means “twice-feathered”, describing the finely cut, almost fern-like leaves.
In German the plant goes by Kosmee, Cosmea or the charming Schmuckkörbchen — “little jewellery basket”. And in Japan, as we saw, it is the cherry blossom of autumn.
The Victorians fall for a Mexican daisy
No single person made cosmos famous. Three forces worked together. Botanical gardens brought it into European horticulture. The seed trade made it cheap and easy — sown from a packet, flowering for months. And breeders kept reshaping it for every kind of garden.
The mood of the age helped. In 1870 William Robinson published The Wild Garden, arguing for natural, flowing planting instead of rigid Victorian bedding. Gertrude Jekyll later championed informal gardens and colour harmonies, the bridge to today’s cottage style. There is no clear evidence that Jekyll personally promoted cosmos — but together, she and Robinson created the look in which a loose, free-flowering annual could shine.
Victorian gardeners were already growing cosmos before the Edwardian era, and its popularity kept climbing into the 20th century.
1901: Cosmos becomes a cover girl
In 1901 the Boston seedsmen R. & J. Farquhar put pink, red and white cosmos on the cover of their seed catalogue. In a time when the catalogue was the company’s salesman, that cover spot was prime real estate — proof that cosmos had become a commercial star by the end of the Victorian era.
Farquhar had solved a real problem. Wild-type cosmos flowered very late, often too late for cool climates. Their early-flowering selections brought the blooms forward into summer. The catalogue is held in the Smithsonian Gardens’ Horticultural Artifacts Collection. The complete 1901 Farquhar catalogue has been digitised by the US National Agricultural Library and is free to browse on the Internet Archive.
The quest for a better cosmos
Breeders selected plants for colour, flower shape, branching, height and earliness, then fixed them into consistent strains. In the 20th century, names such as ‘Sensation’ became catalogue staples. Today’s seed companies breed for reliable colour, predictable height, good germination, abundant flowering and uniform growth.
The last decades brought three revolutions:
- Shape. ‘Sea Shells’ has rolled, tubular petals. ‘Double Click’ carries extra layers of florets, like a small dahlia. ‘Cupcakes’ has fused outer petals forming a shallow cup.
- Size. Dwarf series such as ‘Sonata’ keep the classic flower on plants of about 30 cm — perfect for pots.
- Colour. ‘Xanthos’ brought soft yellow into C. bipinnatus, a species that had only known white, pink and red. Garden writer Graham Rice dates the first yellow-flowered C. bipinnatus to 2017.
Good to know: a named variety is not automatically an F1 hybrid. ‘Double Click’, ‘Sonata’ and ‘Cupcakes’ are commercial series, and the name alone doesn’t tell you how they were bred. Most familiar cosmos are seed-raised selections, not F1s.
The chocolate cosmos: a myth, a rescue and a homecoming
The most dramatic chapter belongs to a different species: Cosmos atrosanguineus, the chocolate cosmos. Its velvety, dark burgundy flowers really do smell of cocoa on a warm day.
- 1860: plant hunter Benedict Roezl collects it in Hidalgo, Mexico.
- 1861: William Hooker describes and illustrates it in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine.
- Late 1800s–1942: Thompson & Morgan sells the seed. According to Gardenista, William Thompson introduced it to the trade in 1885.
Then the story darkened. For decades gardeners were told that the chocolate cosmos was extinct in the wild and survived only as one sterile clone at Kew. It is a lovely tale — and it is wrong. Wild populations grow in Guanajuato, Querétaro and San Luis Potosí, at roughly 1,800 to 2,450 metres. Graham Rice set out the evidence in The Plantsman in 2017, concluding the plant is actually quite abundant in Mexico.
In cultivation, however, it really had become a sterile plant that could only be divided. The rescue came from New Zealand. In Dunedin, geneticists Russell Poulter and Margaret (Margi) Butler of the University of Otago bred a seed-bearing chocolate cosmos between 1990 and 1997. They named it ‘Pinot Noir’, and it was protected in 1997. Plant breeder Keith Hammett later used this material to create ‘Dark Secret’, ‘Eclipse’ and ‘Spellbound’.
And then a full circle. Around 2010, New Zealand gardener Lesley Cox sent seed to Anne Wright of Dryad Nursery in Yorkshire — and from there it reached Thompson & Morgan again, the firm that had sold it until 1942.
One more twist: in 2008 Japanese researchers crossed the chocolate cosmos with the yellow C. sulphureus using embryo rescue. The result had crimson-red flowers — a true cross between two species, not just a selection within one.
Meet the family: three species
The genus is large, but three Mexican species matter most in our gardens. Gardens Illustrated puts the genus at about 30 species, annual and perennial.
| Species | Common name | Habit | Colours | Key facts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmos bipinnatus | Garden cosmos | Annual, 120–180 cm (dwarfs 30–60 cm) | White, pink, rose, crimson — now also pale yellow | Parent of almost all garden varieties |
| Cosmos sulphureus | Yellow or orange cosmos | Annual | Golden yellow, tangerine, orange, red-orange | Loves heat; key in cross-species breeding |
| Cosmos atrosanguineus | Chocolate cosmos | Tender perennial with fleshy tubers | Velvety dark burgundy | Cocoa scent; needs frost-free winter storage in Austria |
The varieties, one by one
The classics (C. bipinnatus)
| Variety | Height | What it looks like | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| ‘Sensation’ (mix) | Tall | Large single flowers in white, pink, crimson | The 20th-century catalogue classic; back of the border |
| ‘Purity’ | 90–120 cm | Pure white, golden centre | White gardens, drifts along paths, cutting |
| ‘Mammoth’ / ‘Mammut’ mix | About 90 cm | Large mixed flowers | Easy cottage-garden filler |
| ‘Rubenza’ | 70–100 cm | Deep ruby-red, softening with age | Drama against white cosmos and silver foliage |
| ‘Antiquity’ | Medium | Burgundy fading to antique salmon | Vintage-toned cut flowers |
| ‘Apricotta’ | 80–100 cm | Apricot, blush and peach | With bronze fennel, dark dahlias, grasses |
| ‘Xsenia’ | Compact | Cerise-pink with peach tones | Pots, bed edges |
| ‘Tip Top Picotee’ / ‘Picotée’ | Medium | White edged purple-pink | Cottage borders |
| ‘Capriola’ | About 1.2 m | White edged pink, very prolific | Graham Rice’s personal favourite |
| ‘Fizzy White’ | Medium | Airy, delicate white | Sarah Raven’s more compact swap for ‘Purity’ |
New shapes
| Variety | Height | What it looks like | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| ‘Sea Shells’ / ‘Seashells Red’ | Tall | Rolled, tubular (quilled) petals, white to carmine or red | A conversation piece in borders and vases |
| ‘Double Click’ series | 90–120 cm | Extra layers of florets, like small dahlias; ‘Cranberries’ is rich burgundy on about 1.1 m stems; also ‘Rose Bonbon’, white and carmine | Cutting garden, romantic schemes |
| ‘Cupcakes’ Blush / White | 90–120 cm | Fused petals forming a cup 10–12 cm across; Blush opens white and turns pink | Structure is the star — great in vases |
| ‘Razzmatazz’ | Medium | Pink and white, semi-double | Playful mixed borders |
| ‘Cosmonaut’ | Medium | White, semi-double | Soft, light plantings |
| ‘Psyché’ | Medium | Semi-double, mixed colours | Informal mixed borders (sold by Vilmorin) |
Compact and new colours
| Variety | Height | What it looks like | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| ‘Sonata’ series | About 30 cm | Large single flowers in white, pink, carmine | Containers, front of border |
| ‘Xanthos’ | About 60 cm | Soft pale yellow, compact | Edges of vegetable beds |
| ‘Easy Wins’ | Compact | Soft pastel yellow | Beginners, pots |
| ‘Gazebo’ mix | Compact | Red, pink and white | Balcony boxes |
Warm colours (C. sulphureus)
| Variety | Height | What it looks like | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| ‘Sunny Orange’ | About 35 cm | Bright orange | Hot containers, with blue ageratum |
| ‘Millennium’ / ‘Brightness’ mixes | Low to medium | Yellow, orange and red | Sunny, exuberant beds |
| ‘Carioca’ | Medium | Warm orange and yellow | Late-summer colour |
| ‘Klondyke’ | Medium | Golden orange | Historic type, sold by Yates in New Zealand in 1910 |
Chocolate cosmos (C. atrosanguineus)
| Variety | What it looks like | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ‘Pinot Noir’ | Dark burgundy, chocolate scent | First seed-bearing form, bred in New Zealand, protected 1997 |
| ‘Dark Secret’, ‘Eclipse’, ‘Spellbound’ | Dark chocolate-cosmos selections | Bred by Keith Hammett from ‘Pinot Noir’ material |
French seed house Vilmorin also offers names you won’t often see elsewhere, such as the warm-toned mix ‘Aldebaran’ and ‘Feng Shui’. Heights marked “tall” or “medium” are estimates — check the packet.
Best buddies: what to plant with cosmos
Cosmos is the ultimate team player. Its light, airy structure softens heavier, more formal plants, and it lets light through to whatever grows behind it.
In the flower border
| Partner | Why it works | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Verbena bonariensis | Purple clusters float among pink or white cosmos; both are see-through | Ideal for naturalistic borders |
| Dahlias | Loose, single cosmos against big, structured dahlia heads | White cosmos with Dahlia ‘Café au Lait’; crimson cosmos with burgundy or bronze dahlias — don’t crowd the tubers |
| Salvias | Blue and violet spikes against round pink, white or crimson flowers | Match heights and flowering periods |
| Blue flowers with orange cosmos | C. sulphureus with blue ageratum, blue salvias or purple verbena | Hot colours with cool accents |
| Ornamental grasses | Stipa (Nassella) tenuissima adds movement to the slender stems | Best in larger, informal beds |
In the vegetable garden
This is where cosmos earns its keep. It provides nectar and pollen, and the RHS lists C. bipinnatus among its plants for pollinators. Diverse flowers near vegetables feed beneficial insects such as hoverflies, whose larvae (in some species) eat aphids.
- Tomatoes and peppers: at the ends of the bed or on the north side, using compact varieties so nothing gets shaded.
- Climbing beans and peas: white or pale pink cosmos in front of a bean tunnel — outside the root zone, leaving room to harvest.
- Courgettes, squash and gourds: around the perimeter, not between the big leaves. These crops depend on pollinators.
- Cucumbers and cabbages: nearby, or in a neighbouring flower strip for more insect diversity.
- Lettuce, carrots and low crops: compact cosmos at bed corners or along paths.
The honest part: cosmos does not fix nitrogen, and there is no good evidence that it repels pests or raises yields on its own. Layout, local pollinators and conditions all matter. For the veg patch, choose single-flowered varieties with open yellow centres — in fuller doubles the pollen is much harder for insects to reach.
Growing cosmos in Austria: small details, big difference
Cosmos is easy — but a few details decide whether you get lush leaves or clouds of flowers.
- Sow (April–May). Sow indoors in April at 18–22 °C, or directly outdoors once frosts are over — around mid-May in much of Austria. Many Austrian gardeners wait until after the Eisheiligen, the “Ice Saints” of 12–15 May.
- Plant out (from mid-May). Harden seedlings off first. Full sun, 30–50 cm apart, more for tall varieties. The RHS notes that cosmos will not flower in shade.
- Pinch. When young plants have several pairs of true leaves, pinch out the tip. Sarah Raven’s rule: after three pairs of leaves — “if in doubt, pinch out”.
- Go easy on food. Reasonably fertile, well-drained soil is all it needs. Too much nitrogen means leaves instead of flowers, so avoid heavily fed vegetable beds. At Perch Hill, Sarah Raven is even trialling grit to make soil leaner, for earlier flowers and less rust.
- Deadhead. Remove faded flowers regularly and the show runs into October.
- Stake or group. Tall plants can get top-heavy; planted in groups, their feathery leaves interlock and hold each other up.
- Overwinter the chocolate cosmos. Annual cosmos dies at the first hard frost. Lift chocolate cosmos tubers and store them frost-free, or keep the plant in a pot in a cool, protected place.
Cut flowers for weeks. Sarah Raven once measured a single square metre of ‘Purity’ and picked around 50 buckets of flowers over one season. Cut stems in the morning, just as the buds open.
Saving your own seed. Collect seed once the flower heads have dried. But if several varieties grow together, insects will cross them, and the seedlings will vary in colour, shape and height. That’s half the fun — just don’t expect an exact copy of a named variety. Seed companies need isolation, controlled pollination, selection and testing to keep a variety true.
Where to see cosmos at its best
- Perch Hill, East Sussex. Sarah Raven’s garden uses cosmos generously with dahlias in rich, coordinated colours, and doubles as a trial ground for varieties. Visitors have described tall pots of chocolate cosmos and panicum grass along the gravel path. Check the site for open days.
- Great Dixter, East Sussex. Adventurous annuals in layered schemes — a masterclass in height, colour, succession and self-seeding.
- Clare Foster’s garden writing. The House & Garden garden editor weaves cosmos through borders and pots with Ammi majus, dahlias and campanulas — informal, but carefully composed.
- RHS Wisley Trials Garden, Surrey. Varieties grow side by side for the RHS Award of Garden Merit. A recent Wisley trial compared almost 90 annual cosmos.
Pinterest searches for inspiration: “cosmos Perch Hill dahlias”, “cosmos French potager”, “cosmos bean tunnel”, “cosmos Café au Lait dahlia”, plus the variety names ‘Purity’, ‘Apricotta’, ‘Rubenza’, ‘Cupcakes White’ and ‘Double Click Cranberries’.
A planting plan to steal
Cosmos doesn’t climb, so it belongs beside a vegetable tunnel, not over it. Its airy flowers form a light, moving veil in front of dense climbing foliage.
| Where | Varieties | Partners |
|---|---|---|
| Along a long path or tunnel | Tall white ‘Purity’ in big drifts, a few ‘Rubenza’ | Climbing beans and gourds, deep crimson dahlias, dark-leaved plants |
| Ends of raised veg beds | Compact ‘Xanthos’ and ‘Xsenia’ | Purple basil, bronze fennel, dark lettuce |
| Around the dahlia bed | ‘Apricotta’, ‘Purity’, ‘Rubenza’ | ‘Café au Lait’ dahlias in apricot, cream, white and deep burgundy |
The last word
From a Mexican hillside to the emperor’s garden at Schönbrunn, from a Boston catalogue cover to a geneticist’s greenhouse in Dunedin — few flowers have travelled so far and asked so little. Sow a packet next spring. By September, you’ll understand why the Japanese call it autumn’s cherry blossom.
Sources
- Farquhar’s catalogue of seeds 1901 — Internet Archive
- Farquhar 1901 cover scan — Wikimedia Commons
- The best cosmos varieties — Gardens Illustrated (Graham Rice)
- Cosmos plant guide — RHS
- RHS Wisley Trials Garden
- The story of Cosmos atrosanguineus — Graham Rice, The Plantsman 2017
- Gardening 101: Chocolate Cosmos — Gardenista
- Sarah Raven podcast ep. 67 — cosmos tips
- Sarah Raven — favourite half-hardy annuals (‘Purity’)
- A week at Perch Hill — Garden Museum
- Cosmos bipinnatus — Wikipedia
- Great Dixter
