Would you like to spice up your salad with edible flowers from your own garden? Then plant the very decorative and easy-care Cosmea, also called decorative basket. With its distinctive flowers, it should not be missing from any summer garden.
How do I properly care for a Cosmea?
In order to care for the Cosmea successfully, it should be planted in a sunny location and watered moderately during prolonged drought. No fertilizer is required. For bushy growth and lush flowering, wilted flowers should be removed and the plant occasionally cut back.
Planting the Cosmea
In order for your Cosmea to bloom lushly as desired, it needs a lot of sun. Plant the decorative basket in a bright place with permeable and rather poor soil. The pH value does not play an important role here. However, it should be warm. Unfortunately, the Cosmea is not hardy and cannot tolerate temperatures below around 15 °C. Therefore, you should only plant the decorative basket in the garden after the Ice Saints.
Water and fertilize the Cosmea
As a rule, the Cosmea does not need to be watered. If the drought persists for a long time, water the plant only moderately. The Cosmea should only be watered well when it is freshly planted. However, it doesn't need fertilizer at all, not even during the flowering period.
Cutting the Cosmea
To ensure that your Cosmea blooms for a long time, you should cut off the wilted flowers regularly. This stimulates the plant to form new buds. To ensure bushy growth, you can cut back your decorative basket a little from time to time. But don't accidentally cut off all the flower shoots. By the way, the Cosmea is also an excellent cut flower for the vase.
Propagate the Cosmea
The Cosmea is easy to propagate. She often even does this herself by seeding herself. Young plants often grow where they are not wanted. You can only prevent this by preventing seeds from maturing and removing the seed heads in a timely manner.
For targeted propagation, we recommend sowing on the warm windowsill from the end of February. By the time they are planted out after the Ice Saints, the seedlings have grown into strong plants.
The best care tips for the Cosmea:
- easy care
- water moderately during prolonged dry periods
- Fertilizer not required
- prune occasionally for bushy growth
- cut off wilted flowers, promotes further bud formation
- excellent cut flower
Tip
If you regularly remove the wilted flowers of your Cosmea and give it a location in full sun, it will bloom particularly profusely.