How to Grow Cosmos Candy Stripe From Seeds

The cosmos variety "Candy Stripe" has feathery green leaves and striking white flowers with red picotee edges and red striping on the petals. Being a C. bipinnatus hybrid, it does not grow as tall as its yellow and orange C. sulphureus cousins. The flowers create an attractive contrast when planted with other pink, red and white C. binnatus varieties, or it stands well on its own. The key to growing this beautiful flower successfully is not to pamper it. Left to its own devices, Candy Stripe will produce volumes of flowers and will reseed itself for another show next year.

Turning fork or tiller
Garden rake
Compost
Fertilizer
Insecticidal soap
Organic fungicide
Sprayer

Instructions

- 1
  Prepare a planting bed in full sun by turning 6 inches of compost into the top 12 inches of soil with a turning fork or tiller. Rake the bed smooth.
- 2
  Scatter the Candy Stripe cosmos seeds onto the ground and rake them in with a garden rake. Water the bed well.
- 3
  Water the seeds lightly each day until they sprout, then water sparingly. Cosmos do not like much water.
- 4
  Fertilize your Candy Stripe cosmos once with a low-nitrogen all-purpose fertilizer when the plants reach 6 inches in height. Fertilize infrequently or not at all afterward to keep plants compact and bushy. Too much fertilizer creates tall and gangly plants, and can cause fewer flowers.
- 5
  Check for aphids frequently, and treat them with insecticidal soap. Treat powdery mildew during humid weather with an organic fungicide. Always spray pesticides and fungicides in the early morning or early evening to avoid burning the plants.

Does Giving a Plants Different Amounts of Water Affect the Growth?

Coreopsis Facts

Flower Basics