Seeds of Cosmos sulphureus

Yellow cosmos · Sulphur cosmos
Family: Asteraceae

Native to Mexico and Central America, Cosmos sulphureus is a fast-growing annual.

With generous blooms in shades of yellow, orange and copper, it brings colour to the garden throughout the summer and attracts many pollinating insects.

Its flowers are also an excellent raw material for exploring plant-based colour.

Contents: approximately 4 g of seeds
For: growing · dye garden · botanical printing · natural colour experiments

Growing

Sow in spring, under cover for transplanting later, or directly outdoors once there is no longer any risk of frost.

Choose a sunny position with well-drained soil. Once established, it is easy to grow and flowers abundantly.

Harvesting flowers regularly encourages new blooms. Some can be left on the plant until completely dry to collect seeds.

Harvesting colour

The flowers can be used fresh or dried.

In botanical printing and other natural dye practices, they offer a range of warm shades to explore. Results vary according to the fibre, mordant, pH and process used.

Seeds

Grown in the garden, the seeds are harvested, dried and selected by hand in small batches.

Not intended for consumption.