Schmuckkörbchen Sensation Pinkie (Samen) - Cosmos x bipinnatus

The Cosmos Sensation Pinkie, recipient of a Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit, is a large variety from the Sensation series, providing interesting cultivars. This one brightens up with large 9 cm diameter flowers, soft pink with a yellow centre, at the top of elegant stems, 1 m tall, as delicate as its finely cut foliage. Sow it directly in the ground, in a rustic flower bed. This undemanding annual plant is as easy to sow as it is to grow.

The Cosmos bipinnatus is an annual species native to Mexico and the extreme south of the United States. This slightly hardy annual plant, related to Dahlias, belongs to the Asteraceae family. It displays a characteristic inflorescence in capitulum and particularly fine foliage, described as pinnatisect, reminiscent of fennel. Each plant from the Sensation Pinkie selection quickly forms tufts 90 cm to 1 m high, 50 cm wide. Flowering starts in June-July, lasting until October, only stopping with the first frosts. The capitulum flowers measure 9 cm in diameter and are composed of petals of various colours. The flower centre consists of a golden disc. They attract many insects and butterflies, including the Monarch. The foliage is finely cut into filiform segments, barely 0.5 to 1 mm wide, and is slightly and pleasantly scented.

Very easy to grow, Cosmos is a plant within reach of beginners to sow directly in the ground. Its flowering is foolproof: poor soil, heat, humidity. This tall plant brings verticality to flower beds and lightness to the heavier blooms of perennials. During flowering, the plant may sag under its weight, due to wind or showers. This problem can be solved by grouping the plants in such a way that the leaves cling together. Sensation Pinkie is used in rustic flower beds, mixed with Purpur-Leinkraut, grasses, Gauras, Montbreties, Argentinisches Eisenkraut, or among perennials that love the sun as much as it does, bidens and rudbeckias. Its flowers hold up very well in a vase.

The ecological gesture: Sowing a melliferous plant like Cosmos in your garden will attract pollinating insects and butterflies throughout the summer. At the end of the season, let the last flowers produce their seeds, which are particularly appreciated by birds. You will thus encourage them to settle in your garden and play an important role in its ecosystem.