Fothergill's Cosmos Candy Stripe Seeds

Details:

• Botanical Name: Cosmos bipinnatus 'Candy Stripe', a premium and visually distinctive selection within the Cosmos genus.
• Plant Class: Half Hardy Annual, growing with exceptional speed from a spring sowing to yield a relentless, non-stop flush of flowers in its very first season.
• Exquisite Bicolour Blooms: Features large, wide-open white petals beautifully edged and blushed with a delicate, variable candy-pink picotee margin, surrounding a bright golden central eye.
• Stately Tall Presence: Displays a tall, upright, and well-branched growth habit, reaching a mature height of 120cm (48in) that is perfect for creating soft, fluid movement at the back of garden borders.
• Fine Fern-Like Foliage: Clothed in soft, deeply cut, feathery bright green leaves that lend an airy, lightweight texture and serve as the perfect neutral canvas for the striking blooms.
• Premium Cut Flower Variety: Highly prized by floral designers; the long, straight, elegant stems make it a magnificent, long-lasting focal choice for fresh summer vase arrangements.
• Pollinator Magnet: Highly accessible, single flowers act as a natural landing pad, keeping your garden buzzing with life by attracting butterflies, honeybees, and bumblebees.
• Optimal Growing Position: Performs at its absolute best when positioned in a bright, open spot in full sun, showing excellent natural heat and drought resilience once fully established.

Care Instructions:

• Sowing Position: Start seeds early indoors from March to April in trays of moist, free-draining compost, or sow directly outdoors in May where they are to flower once all danger of spring frost has safely passed. Position in full sun.
• Planting Out & Spacing: For indoor-started seedlings, gradually acclimatise them to outdoor temperatures before transplanting. Space the young plants approximately 30–45cm apart to allow their tall, branching framework plenty of room to expand smoothly.
• Support & Maintenance: Due to their impressive 120cm height, plants grown in exposed or windy sites will benefit from subtle staking or support from link stakes. Deadhead faded blooms regularly throughout the summer to continuously trigger the production of fresh bicolour buds.