Cosmos, Kenikir (Organic)

Cosmos sulphureus.

Bright yellow, 2-3″ wide flowers are like little stars in the garden. Can quickly grow into a hedge covered in yellow blooms, which the bees love. Bushy plants grow to 4’ wide and tall, and bloom all season long in the Pacific Northwest. In other latitudes, or when planted mid summer, Kenikir cosmos can grow to greater heights and flower later due to their unique day length sensitivity.

Highly pungent, edible leaves are used in several cuisines as a salad green, including in Indonesia, India, Malaysia, and Thailand. Make sure to pick the young leaves and shoots before the plants begin to flower for best flavor. Leaves are used in Southeast Asian traditional plant based medicine for liver and bone health and have been shown to be anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial. Drought tolerant species native to Mexico and South America. Half-hardy annual that may survive light frosts.

Kenikir cosmos seed is known to have high dormancy and benefits from cold stratification to germinate. Total Viability is printed on the seed packet and includes the germination percentage plus the dormant seed percentage as determined by an independent laboratory. Dormant seed is the portion of a seed sample that does not germinate during the short time period of the seed test, but is determined to be alive and respiring. Dormant seed is likely to germinate with cold stratification and/or longer germination times.