How to Plant Cox Comb Flowers

Planting Seeds

• 1

  Fill a seed-starting flat with potting soil to within ½ inch of the rim. Water the soil until it is evenly moist.

• 2

  Sprinkle the seeds thinly on the soil, planting approximately one seed per square inch. Coxcomb seeds are extremely small so some over-seeding is unavoidable. Cover the seeds with ¼ inch of soil.

• 3

  Place the flat in a plastic bag and set it in a dark, 65- to 70-degree Fahrenheit room to germinate. Check the flat daily for germination, and remove the plastic bag as soon as sprouts appear.

• 4

  Move the flat to a warm, sunny windowsill. Water when the soil surface begins to feel dry.

• 5

  Thin the coxcomb so the plants are sitting approximately 2 inches apart in all directions once the leaves have unfurled. Pluck out the extra seedlings and dispose of them.

Planting in the Garden

• 6

  Prepare a full-sun, well-drained garden bed for the coxcomb. Mix 2 inches of compost into the top 6 inches of soil in the bed to aid drainage and add nutrition.

• 7

  Cut the potting soil into cubes with a knife, leaving a single coxcomb flower in each cube. Lift the cubes from the soil by the top leaves on each plant to prevent damage to the stem.

• 8

  Plant the coxcomb at the same depth in the garden bed that they are growing at in the flat. Space the plants approximately 18 inches apart.

• 9

  Water the bed thoroughly after transplanting the coxcomb so any air pockets around the roots collapse. Moisten the soil to a 6-inch depth, ensuring the water is in the root zone of the plant.