Blind Cosmos

Yeah I have found a bud!

Sidelined

Next year I’ll begin a Cosmos 2024 thread and we can compare notes

I’m not sure I’ll try again!

Speaking of sunflowers, we went to a PYO sunflower farm last week and brought some lovely stems home. Within minutes, the bees had found them and were soon wobbling about drunkenly covered in yellow pollen. 😂

Mine don't have any buds yet either.

The sunflowers might flower if we get some sun, but so far not a hint of yellow 🌻🌻🌻

Next year I’ll begin a Cosmos 2024 thread and we can compare notes

Mine still without buds, apart from one plant. The rest are strong and healthy. Have picked the top but still nought.
Marigolds the same but it’s the cosmos I really want to flower.
Glad it’s not just me.

Mine are completely blind but have lovely foliage. I was discussing this with my neighbour and she has had the same experience. TBH I think it's the weather!

Finally! I’ve had a sniff but there’s no scent.

Another update! The cosmos are gorgeous! Leggy rather than bushy and not loads of flowers on each plant but what’s burst into flower is smashing. I’ve been tempted two or three times to abandon them to the compost bin, glad I didn’t. And don’t they have a wonderful perfume - I never normally cut them for the house but have some in the kitchen and the perfume hits you as you walk in!

Clearly the lesson is to learn patience - everything has its own time to bloom 😂😂

I grow Cosmos from seed every year. I usually plant them in the ground where they grow to about five feet tall!

This year I have grown a dwarf variety and put them in pots. I have to say they have been a bit disappointing this year, with not many flowers. I thought it was because they were dwarf ones.

My dahlias are also a lot shorter than previous years with fewer flowers.

It may be because of the very changeable weather we have had in the UK. Pouring down one week and sunny the next.

My cosmos and tall and strong still havnt even got tiny buds.

Have patience - I too thought mine were blind and was so disappointed as I've tried the Pink Lemonade variety this year. They have got to about 18" tall and lo and behold, loads of buds! Just need some sunshine now.

They've all had plenty of water today!

Let's hope for sun tomorrow.

Too late for this year, I'm afraid, but if you're growing cosmos from seed or plug plants, leave them in their cell tray until a bud forms then plant out. The depletion of nutrients in the cell tray triggers bud formation and flowering. As Casdon says above, cosmos don't like rich growing conditions.

The number of buds on my cosmos has doubled but none are near opening.

I have just chelsea chopped a lot of perenials, and hopefully will have another good show of flowers later, with the autumn flowering plants. Summer is coming back next week for us, hurrah.

Well, unlike my dahlias, the cosmos are being uncooperative! Last weekend there were buds looking close to opening … a week there’s no progress! It has been very wet and a tad cold for the time of year but everything else is coping. It’s a shame…😩

Mine are getting well watered today so I'm not going out to look.

I also planted dwarf sunflowers and they show no signs of flowering either.

I’ve now got three buds on six plants. Meanwhile, my neighbour’s cosmos are still flowering away beautifully!

We have sown our own cosmos this year and like others on here have lots of foliage but only one flower. Thanks to this thread I think I now know the answer and will tell DH who insists when planting up on adding some compost and fertiliser.

Seashell, sounds very pretty!

In answer to the last couple of posters questions both seed and compost were fresh this year. Grown in trays in the potting shed on a window sill until big enough to go outside then in a sheltered but sunny spot. Tops pinched out as recommended. I suspect it was our odd weather - we had a warm spell followed by a cold grey spell early on, followed by that mini heatwave and now it’s relatively cold and wet again. Ho hum!

Glad you’ve updated Sidelined. The cosmos in my borders now have lots of buds too and some flowers just opening. The variety I sowed this year are “seashell” and a little different to the usual flowers, but very pretty.

Pssst, I don’t want to speak too soon but there re buds on my cosmos! Yay! At last

I think that it was 2018 /9 when I recall many gardeners having blind cosmos .

It could have been caused by adverse weather conditions .
Poor /old seed will cause it .
Poor drainage is another culprit .
The wrong or too much fertiliser .
Too shady a spot .

Pinch out the tops and leave them alone - they just might surprise you !

What is the micro climate like where they are planted? Is it sheltered/in full sun/partial shade/exposed as this might have an influence perhaps.
I have done them from seed and planted them out in sheltered garden in partial shade and they were slow to flower, September, whereas the ones I put on the allotment in full sun flowered in August. Uk north midland area.

I was invited into my neighbours today and her cosmos are flourishing with lots of flowers. 🤔