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A mature Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) growing in a residential garden bed

In the landscape

Border · Foundation · Mass planting · Coastal · Container · Meadow · Naturalized · Butterfly

Data sources

Missouri Botanical Garden, NC State Extension

Cosmos

Cosmos bipinnatus · Annual

Cosmos is grown as an annual, that matures to about 1–4 ft × 2–3 ft. It does best in full sun with medium water needs in well-drained and occasionally-dry soil. Expect yellow, pink and purple blooms in summer. It attracts bees, butterflies and pollinators, stands up well to deer, drought and dry soil and grows happily in containers.

USDA zones
2-11
Sun
Full sun
Water
Medium
Mature size
1–4 ft × 2–3 ft
Growth rate
Fast
Maintenance
Low
Soil
Well-drained, Occasionally-dry
Bloom color
Yellow, Pink, Purple, White
Bloom season
Summer
Attracts
Bees, Butterflies, Pollinators
Tough against
Deer, Drought, Dry soil, Heat, Poor soil
Native to
Mexico, southern United States

Will it survive your winters?

We score Cosmos’s freeze-trouble range against the real coldest nights your area has recorded.

Powered by ~35 years of daily lows from the nearest NOAA weather station. A risk read, not a guarantee — a sheltered spot or mature plant beats the odds.

More plants for your zone: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9 · Zone 10 · Zone 11

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