How do you grow cosmos? The method is very simple and easy to get the hang of.

        I see gardening friends looking up how to grow cosmos. Actually, sowing cosmos is not hard; the hard part is pest control later on, because cosmos is super prone to pests. Here we will start from the beginning and talk about sowing cosmos.

        Cosmos is generally sown in early spring. As long as you can ensure the sowing temperature is above 15°C, you can plant it.

        Generally we all use the sowing method for planting. Because there are potted cosmos and ground-planted cosmos, there is a slight difference in the sowing method. For potted cosmos, you can break up the potting soil, then place the seeds with each seed spaced about 1 cm apart, cover with 1 mm of fine soil, water, and put it in a spot with plenty of light. If you want it to sprout earlier, you can cover it with a plastic bag or something similar to keep it warm and moist.

        If it is ground-planted cosmos, to get even sprouting, loosening the soil is a must. Loosen the surface soil about 5 cm, then scatter the cosmos seeds. For ground planting you do not need to cover with soil; just water it. Usually keep the soil surface moist enough. As long as the temperature reaches above 15°C, it will sprout within a few days.

        Of course, if you directly scatter the seeds on hard ground and sprinkle water, some seeds will still sprout, but the germination rate will definitely not be high, and you waste seeds. Or you can simply dibble them: take a pickaxe and drag it around the yard, and according to a certain row spacing, drag out shallow groove marks (rows) in the soil, then at intervals of 10 cm drop two or three seeds into the shallow grooves, no need to cover with soil, and finally sprinkle water.

        Cosmos has two problems that need our human intervention. For potted cosmos, controlling plant height by pinching to promote flowering is very necessary. When cosmos grows four true leaves, you can pinch it (pinch off the top). After that you can continue to pinch flexibly, because each time you pinch,

it will send out side branches, and you can continue to pinch on the side branches. In this way, you can achieve the goal of more branching and more flowers.

        The other problem is pests. Cosmos is especially prone to spider mites. Even if you plant just one pot, it will get spider mites on its own, so it is still necessary to prepare some medicine for controlling spider mites, especially for ground-planted cosmos, because the area is large, so spraying is necessary.