Cosmos Sulphureus 'Bright Lights'

Trial: Annual

Years Trialed: 2001

Good Qualities

Bright colors (5); Easy to grow (2); More of a bedding plant, C. bipinnatus types are better as cuts; Useful filler; Nice variation between deep orange, orange/yellow, and a bicolor striped, I do wish there were more of the bicolor.

Problems

Too short (3); Hard to harvest (2); Re-seeds; Very branchy; Aphids; Flowers rather short lived on plant, not completely self-cleaning, yellow-orange to red-orange flowers; Deer nearly mowed down newly set transplants, close to 100% gone; My attitude...didn't cut because I was skeptical it would hold for long enough.

Comments

Similar to Diablo, Mona's Orange and Mona's Yellow; Short stems, small flowers.


Trial Data

Cosmos sulphureus 'Bright Lights'
Yield (stems/plant) Stem Length (inches) Market Appreciation Rating¹ Repeat Again Rating¹ Ease of Cultivation Rating¹ Average Spacing (in2)
Wholesale Retail Consumer
Average 4.6 14.8 1.5 2.3 3.0 2.8 4.1 177
Range of Responses 0-10 7-28 1-3 1-4 1-5 1-4 3-5 21-432


¹1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.


Supplier

Benary Seed 1444 Larson St. Sycamore, IL 60178