Content
- Is the Cosmea hardy?
- The wintering of perennial Cosmeen
- What to do with one-year Cosmeen in winter?
- The essentials in brief:
The Cosmea is a typical summer flower and not hardy
Is the Cosmea hardy?
The cosmees are an approximately 26 species encompassing plant genus, which are native to the subtropical to tropical areas of the New World. Only four species occur naturally in North America. Most species are annual, only a few perennial.
Previous article When does the Cosmea bloom?Hardy are the jewelry baskets, so the Cosmeen are also called, all not. They are even quite sensitive to slightly cooler temperatures. Their "pain threshold" is already around + 15 ° C. When it gets colder, the plant loses its ornamental and edible flowers.
The wintering of perennial Cosmeen
Few species of the Cosmea are perennial, for example the black-red Cosmea atrosangiuneus. Since it smells of chocolate, it is also known as chocolate flower or chocolate cosmea. These species produce root tubers, much like dahlias do. That's why they can hibernate in the same way.
Dig out the root tubers in autumn and store them frost-free at a temperature of about 5 ° C. Only in a very mild area you can try the hibernation in the garden. Then you should protect the jewelry basket, however, with a thick mulch layer from the cold.
The overwintering of potted plants is also quite easy with the Cosmea. Cut the plant back before the beginning of winter, which offers less attack surface to diseases and pests. Then place the jar in a frost-free room. The Cosmea does not need much care in winter. It should only be poured occasionally.
What to do with one-year Cosmeen in winter?
So that you have beautiful cosmeen in the next gardening season, you can start to prefer the young plants in late winter. The seeds are available in garden centers or on the Internet, but also from your own plants in the garden. The sowing is easy, because the Cosmea germinates easily.