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?

They are all too, too, marvelous, but I know what to expect from your pictures. They do help chase away those season ending blues. That's a super clump shot of Addie Branch Smith, can't miss Tuscawilla Tigress and Outrageous, Red-eyed Fantasy is a grabber, lovely color of Trahlyta, and the coneflowers round it all off. Really enjoy them all, naturally. Avedon

Vince, I was actually surprised at how well Mortgage Lifter did for me especially since it was one I started foolishly late! But it was one of my favorites for flavor and they were really gorgeous! Sey, I would grow both KB and BR again. In all cases I didn't get TOO many fruit but what I got was great. The Pineapple, however, I would not bother with - except, I don't think what I got was really Pineapple. It was crossed or stray or something, it did not have the characteristics of Pineapple. So, maybe I would grow it again, with seed from a different source. Too bad it was so. freaking. prolific. My Cherokee was early and I would definitely, definitely grow that again. Those plants are just plain tolerant of everything! What else would I not plant? Anna Russian. Not impressed. At all.

This year, the first year, I grew Early Girl, Yellow Pear, Patio, and Husky Cherry Red in 5-gallon buckets. I harvested one ripe tomato from each of the Early Girl and the Patio plants in the last week of May and first Week of June. The Patio produced about 20-25 tomatoes, most of which were unimpressive. The Early Girl has produced and is still producing, but the taste is only somewhat better than the ones at the grocery store. The Yellow Pear and Husky Cherry are both producing ok, considering the EB, pests, beginner learning curve, limited sun, etc. The Yellow Pear is very mild. I don't mind it but I won't grow it next year because the taste isn't my favorite and it is a beast size-wise. The Husky Cherry toms are actually quite tasty, so I might grow one, but it has a hard time with EB. I have one Celebrity that I planted in early June that I haven't harvested from yet. I try to stay with small-fruited prolific varieties because of my limited sun. Next year I'll probably plant Husky Cherry and Celebrity depending on how it does. Based on some of the recommendations here I'd like to try Sun Gold or Sun Sugar. I'm also intrigued by Tumbling Tom.