Chocolate cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguinea) is a delight to the nose as well as the eyes for your garden. When in full bloom, the mature flowers on long, slender stems look like sweet kisses on a stick and fill the afternoon with the sweet scent of vanilla-tinged chocolate. The new flowers hug the foliage of the plant, almost hiding it with their number! Add to that the sweet chocolate fragrance and you end up with something very special.
Although the chocolate cosmos is endangered in the wild, transplants are easily found in most nurseries and garden centers in the spring. However, gardeners inexperienced in growing chocolate cosmos may overlook what appear to be messy little tangles of miniature dahlia leaves, not realizing that once established, the prolific blooms nearly hide the foliage. . Once in bloom, the chocolate cosmos blooms continuously throughout the summer until the first frosts of fall.
If you are planning a gothic garden, chocolate cosmos is the plant for you. Sometimes referred to as black cosmos, the dark maroon flowers are so deep in color that they appear brown/black in the late afternoon and early evening.
Native to Mexico, chocolate cosmos is a medium hardy, sun-loving perennial that is moderately drought tolerant.
You will more easily grow chocolate cosmos from transplants purchased from your local garden center or nursery. Large groups of established plants can also be divided to provide up to three or four transplants.
Plant Chocolate Cosmos in rich, well-draining organic soil in a location that receives full sun. Keep transplants moist until they have taken root and see the beginnings of new growth.
In the fall, when the foliage dies back, cut the plants back to about two inches from the root and let them overwinter in a frost-free area. Chocolate cosmos is hardy in zones 7-10. In these areas, you may choose to cover the plants with a hood to protect them from the danger of frost.