Cosmos - No Flowers

[jakep]

Any advice please. I planted Cosmos seeds and pricked out when necessary and then planted out in garden bed. They are very healthy looking, lots of foliage. Some are about two feet tall, others not far behind. However there is not a single bud or flower on any of them. Comments please.

[wolf63]

My brother's elder daughter had a Hamster called Cosmos. Useless bit of information. :-)

[Buenchico]

Some discussion here (although, admittedly, it seems to come down to a lot of head scratching!):
https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1003977/cosmos-sturdy-and-full-but-no-flowers
[That's page 1 of 3]

Tomato feed (for future years) is recommended by The Grauniad:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2006/oct/01/shopping.gardens1

Dodgy seed, as back in 2003, perhaps?
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/howtogrow/3315412/A-disappointing-year-for-the-cosmos.html

Possibly also relevant:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/cosmos/cosmos-not-blooming.htm

[rowanwitch]

Feed with a high potash feed, they are sometimes late to flower it depends on the variety and when they were sown.

[Togo]

As long as it was not old seed or seed that was past it's best by date you should still get blooms. Takes on average about 7 weeks. Mine are just starting to show buds now...but they are not 2ft tall. Been hard to predict this year what with the scorching spring and then bleedin freezing cold interspersed with gales and downpours. That is enough to stop cosmos maturing.

[ducksie]

Mine are slow to flower this year but I see buds about to open and this morning I was greeted with a gorgeous white cosmos, there are purple, and pinks about to bloom to, my friend is like you, she bought seeds for her parents when garden centres were closed and she never had cosmos (it was on my suggestion she bought them) and her parents think she got sold weeds but I have been sending her updates of mine and today she says there is buds and they are about to bloom, just have patience I would say

[Togo]

// and her parents think she got sold weeds //

Haha made me laugh Ducksie. Been sold a pup, a pig in a poke, and a dummy myself in the past ....but never a weed. :))

[puzzled54]

I grew them last year for the first time and mine didn’t flower till September. I have seen some in flower this year already, but mine are nowhere near so I presume I have a late flowering variety

[ducksie]

You probably have Puzzled54 but when they bloom they give such a splash of colour and joy in the garden, I don't mind how long it takes for mine to bloom the later the better, I have them when all others have seen the summer out

[jakep]

Thank you all, will feed and wait.

[Chipchopper]

Ideally, they should be planted in a warm, sunny spot. In some hot countries they are often considered as weeds.
They can be a little shy to bloom, if they don't like the position.

[Old_Geezer]

Is it not the case that the more satisfied a plant is with it's conditions the less urgent it is to flower and seed ? Perhaps you're looking after it too well then. But first, I'd wait & see. It may just be establishing itself in it's new home.

[Chipchopper]

I've just checked on the cosmos that I had sown approx 4 weeks ago with a mixed annuals pack and I'm happy to say, they have just started to form flower buds at the very tips of the plants, so its looking promising
They are getting the most sun in the latter part of the day.