This plant is known to many as the Moscow chamomile. Officially, it is called cosmea flower or cosmos (the official translation from Greek is decoration). Most often you can see the annual in group plantings of rabatok. Sometimes they grow it to cut into bouquets.
In nature, there are more than 40 species of plants. As a perennial cosmea flower exists in the tropical regions of America. Especially a lot of it in Mexico. In Europe, the beauty appeared skidding and is often found along roads, in wastelands and even landfills.
Beauties Cosmeas
In Russia, 3 types of plants can be found everywhere: bicoporidae cosmea, sulfur-yellow and blood-red. Although in recent years avid flower growers began to cultivate artificial cottages of Moscow chamomile at the dachas, which differ in a number of features.
Description
The herbaceous plant belongs to the Asteraceae family. To know what the culture looks like, carefully study the external structure. Space has a thin, well-branched stem, reaching a height of 0.5 to 1.5 m. You can recognize the Mexican aster by the following signs:
- shoots are smooth, bright green in color with reddish stains;
- openwork leaves oppositely located; there are oval plates with a pointed edge and thin needle-shaped;
Plant with openwork foliage
- inflorescences-baskets with a diameter of 6-12 cm are formed on the tops of the shoots.
Cosmea gives flowers of various shades: white, golden, pink, red, purple. Reed petals frame the fluffy, spherical (sometimes flat) core of brown or black tubes with yellow anthers.
Cosmey begins to bloom at the beginning of summer and is fragrant to the very frosts. As a result, it gives elongated achenes with crest, which are very quickly carried by the wind through the garden.
Species and varieties
In Russia, 3 varieties of cosmea are most often found. They differ in form and shade of inflorescences.
The main types of space
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Twofold Cosmea | It is a densely branching bush up to 1 m high. Numerous baskets are painted in white, pink, lilac, red in terry inflorescences, yellow in small tubular ones. The petals have oval or wavy edges |
| Sulfur Yellow Cosmea | It can be grown on a flower bed up to 1.2-1.5 m. Leaf segments are wider than that of the feathery species. Inflorescences are small - up to 8-10 cm in diameter. Yellow cosmea collected from reed flowers with corrugated petals |
| Blood red | It is distinguished by large flowers with maroon petals surrounding the black core. Their surface is matte, almost velvety. Unpaired leaves painted in deep dark green |
The red-bloody perennial received another name - chocolate cosmea, due to the specific aroma exuded by flowers.
Chocolate cosmea
Through the efforts of breeders, gardeners have recently been given the opportunity to grow another group of Moscow chamomile flowers. True, terry cosmea in the official classifier is not yet presented as a separate species. You can recognize it by the lush, astro-like inflorescences of pink, yellow, orange, red shades.
Based on the available species, beautiful varieties of perennial cosmea were bred, which immediately became popular among gardeners.
Varieties of Cosme
| Name | Features |
|---|---|
| Sea shell | Inflorescences that look like shells form on a meter-long bush. They are large, multi-colored. |
| Cosmea Sensation | It differs in early flowering. It is distinguished by long stems (up to 1.2 m), inflorescences up to 10 cm in diameter, which can be monophonic or two-tone |
| Bonbon rose | It belongs to the terry group of cosmas. Gives lush astropod flowers of a pale pink hue |
| Carousel | Very decorative meter bush with highly dissected foliage. The main feature is white petals in a pink border |
| Sunny orange | Short, no more than 30 cm, bush with pubescent erect stems. Small inflorescences barely reach a diameter of 6 cm |
| Terry Button | Several varieties have been created under this name: · An ordinary bush 1.2 m tall - with terry and semi-double baskets of various colors; · Burgundy - reaches a height of 0.8 m, gives inflorescences in diameter of 7-10 cm; · Two-tone - with terry pinkish-white flowers |
| Picoti | The variety attracts with unusual coloring. Looking at the flowers, it seems as if the master is decorating the fabric - the white petals framed by a carmine-red border are so original decorated by nature |
Note! Sometimes, in search of varieties of cosme, gardeners stumble upon an online store of the same name. It is not related to decorative colors - the site implements correctors for the face and other cosmetics.
Growing cosmey from seeds
The Mexican aster in nature reproduces independently, scattering seeds around itself. Gardeners prefer to breed cosmea as an annual plant. Therefore, they try to collect seeds in the fall, so that next year they can resume the work.
Landing Features
Cultivating cosmea is a simple process, which even a beginner can easily cope with. Plant seeds retain good germination for 3 years after their collection.
If cosmea liked growing from seeds when planted, it is determined in one of the ways:
- if the seedling method is planned, then landing is carried out in March-early April in boxes;
- in the open ground in the spring they sow as soon as the snow melts;
- some gardeners practice sowing before winter, taking into account the natural way of propagating the crop.
Terry Rose Bonbon
Cosmea seeds are cold-resistant, so you can not worry about night frosts. But even in the southern climate, when sowing on a flower bed, flowering will begin no earlier than July. For summer residents of the Moscow region and more northern regions, it is recommended to use the seedling method.
How to grow seedlings
To enjoy cosmea flowers at the beginning of summer, they take shallow boxes and fill them with a sand-peat mixture. The following algorithm follows:
- each seed is slightly pressed into the ground without deepening - light should fall on them;
- moisten the earth;
- the box is covered with a transparent film and put on a windowsill.
In the room, maintain a temperature of + 18-20 ° C until emergence. This will happen in a couple of weeks. At this point, the shelter is removed completely and the sprouts rise to a height of 10 cm.
Garden Chamomile Seedlings
Seedlings are picked in other containers, keeping a gap between plants of 10-15 cm. Before being transferred to open ground, the cosmea is kept in a room with a temperature of + 16-18 ° ะก.
To exclude the thinning procedure, initially you can plant seeds of 2-3 pcs. into separate cups.
Sowing in open land
Cold resistance of the plant allows sowing cosmei directly into flower beds. This procedure is carried out in most regions in April. In the southern regions, you can arrange discounts from the end of March.
Any scheme is used: ordinary or square-nested. You need to plant in such a way that there are no more than 6 plants per 1 sq.m, otherwise they will interfere with each other. The optimal gap between cosmeas is 0.3-0.5 m.
Important! Too much distance is undesirable, otherwise the bushes will begin to build up green mass to the detriment of flowering.
Wells are not deep - up to 1 cm. Water carefully, so that the seeds are not washed out of the pits. When the seedlings appear, they look after the plants, like adult bushes.
Cosme care
Before planting seedlings in a flower bed, prepare shallow pits. The distance between them will depend on the height of the variety. For tall bushes, it is advisable to immediately establish a support by driving a stake near the holes.
Deepenings are watered and only then seedlings are installed in them. The seedlings are instilled and watered again. Further irrigation is carried out as necessary.
Care Activities:
- in a hot, dry summer, cosmea is watered once a week, bringing 3-4 buckets of water under the bush;
- on fertile soils, a one-time feeding is sufficient (in spring or autumn); on depleted soils, superphosphate, rotted manure or Agricole are added every month;
- throughout the summer, cosmea is periodically sprayed with the growth stimulator "Bud";
Note! When the bushes reach a height of 50 cm, it is recommended to pinch the tops. This will provide abundant branching.
- wilted inflorescences are immediately pruned to stimulate the appearance of new buds.
Selecting the largest baskets on the bush, after full maturation they put on gauze bags. This will prevent the ripening of seeds on the ground.
In order not to complain about why cosmea bushes slowed down in growth, they regularly carry out loosening of the soil and weed control.
Cosmos Garden
As for diseases and pests, summer residents will not have to worry about this. Cosmea has strong immunity, which was another reason for the popularization of culture.
In dense landings, slugs and snails can be seen. They are collected manually or set near the flowerbed of a beer trap (the parasites are too eager for the intoxicated drink). For prevention, you can sprinkle earth around the bushes of crushed eggshell or ash.
In the southern regions, the plant is grown as a perennial. Before frost, the bush is cut, leaving small columns of 10-15 cm. Cover with a thick layer of fallen leaves and spruce branches.
Important! When spring comes, the shelter must be removed immediately so that the roots do not shed.
In the northern regions, bushes do not preserve during the winter. They are completely removed from the flowerbed, the earth is dug up.
So that from the summer until the frosts the cosmea delights with its beauty, planting and care in the open ground are carried out with knowledge of the rules of agricultural technology. Do not look at the fact that the culture is unpretentious in cultivation. For care and attention, she will always thank lush flowering.
