I had such a beautiful long planter filled with Cosmos. They were doing so well and was eagerly anticipating their blooming. I checked them every day for slugs, found and removed one slug. This morning looked out my window and saw how great the Cosmos were coming along. Went outside this afternoon and the Cosmos had been eaten way down to bare stems, some even pulled out by the roots. I am so sad.

Less water! they are more drought tolerant than most... I can definitely say this is the one flower that benefits from NOT having rich healthy fertile soil! In fact it’s necessary that it DOESNT or u can end up w tall greens and no blooms... once i move all my cosmos varieties to a bed w unamended sand (practically zero soil nutrition!) and forced myself to not water as much (deeper root growth that way) they all did so much better! Including bright lights, sensation, apricot lemonade (shorter var.) and double whites I had leftover...I collect seed every fall amd only buy new for a new variety - the flowers grown in sand/soil mix from same seed families dont get as many blooms for me! I'm lucky to have a pure sand bed as i dont live far from what used to be shoreline... its the one thing in the garden that is counter intuitive to everything we think of as needed for great flower production lol The year i had big thick stems was the year we got a lot of rain, so i can pretty much get away w NEVER watering when it comes to cosmos — and let them live on rain water alone, they can go 4wks where i am, i will give one good deep water every two wks if it hasnt been raining thoroughly but thats about it! Never feed, rarely water, pinch back at 1' early in their season and basically leave them alone ...and they never fail for me in zone 4b They are a late summer- early fall bloom time though, so not really a main event during primetime like July/August...i like that they give a big show at seasons end when most gardens are winding down, along w the dahlias and zinnias so maybe they benefit from cooler nights?

Chocolate cosmos, alas, is a sterile species, and does not produce seed. It is extinct in the wild, and all of the available plants are clones of one surviving cultivated plant. There is a possible second individual out there, so in theory it could produce seeds, but I don't think anyone has tried to genetically find the other one.

I've been using Cosmo Brand Appliances in all of my rental properties and my tenants are very happy. Quality seems very good for what their charging.