I keep saying that I'm not a fan of pink flowers but they somehow keep appearing in my garden. Although, I forgive "Rose Bon Bon" for being pink, mostly because of the showy blooms and because the seeds were free. Looking at the blooms of this comos it is easy for me to anthropomorphize the flower and like it more than I really mean to.
Early in the growing season I noticed something unsual about the plants that I grew from these seeds. Some of them weren't "double" they were single or highly deformed blooms. I sent off a picture to Renee and she called me to talk about the conditions under which I was growing these cosmos.
Normally, I'd grow cosmos in poor soil and in the ground, but these I grew in a large container with good, well-draining potting soil. She assured me that she didn't notice any blooms like this when the plants were being trialed or had heard of this happening from other gardeners who had grown them.
At first I was under the impression that perhaps some other cosmos seeds were mixed in with this batch. As more of the blooms opened it became obvious that whether "Rose Bon Bon" is a hybrid or a sport, somewhere along the line it has the pink "Seashells" cosmos in its family tree. This isn't really a complaint, think of it as more of an observation on traits of flowers and plants. We may sometimes want them to be doubles, but their plant DNA says they are single blooms. Single blooms must be a dominant trait and no amount of oohing and aahing over the double blooms changed that.
When I saw the single or the deformed blooms open, I just pinched them off and tried to focus on the beauty of the double flowers. Cosmos "Rose Bon Bon" is a cut-and-come-again variety that makes them great for bouquets. Unfortunately, this meant that every time I cut off an "ugly" bloom, more of them would appear.
If you like double flowers or annual flowers that look like Peonies or are trying to achieve a cottage garden look, you'll definitely like Cosmos Double "Rose Bon Bon." Bees love cosmos blooms in the garden and "Rose Bon Bon" was visited by honeybees and sweat bees and the occasional wasp. The blooms lasted a long time in my container garden, only ceasing when I went on vacation and they weren't watered and dried up. I've seen this cultivar of cosmos also sold as "Double Click Rose Bonbon." The name might be slightly different, but it looks like the same fancy, romantic blooms. "Rose Bon Bon" was bred for the cut flower trade so don't forget to take a snip a few blooms and bring them indoors where they can be enjoyed up close. If you'd like to buy cosmos "Rose Bon Bon" Renee's Garden is where I got my seeds from.
I never think I like pink and yet I like tons of pink flowers. I also don't generally like doubles, yet I do like the puffy peonies. Do the 'Rose Bon Bon' bend over or does the stem support them pretty well? To me, they look like dahlias. I like the freaky single forms you got. Genetics is fascinating.
ReplyDeleteThat is one gorgeous cosmo! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI haven't grown cosmos in several years, but this one would bring me back and find a little space for them.
ReplyDeleteEileen
The deformed blooms are kind of neat in their own special way, and the full doubles are real attention-getters. LOVE the color! (I'm an unabashed pink flower lover.)
ReplyDeleteI love the double blooms. Haven't seen those before. I will try them next spring.
ReplyDeleteI also grew these cosmos this year...I have never tried them before. I would say that seeing these blooms has got me hooked, I already ordered some cosmos for next year. I had trouble getting many of mine to germinate, I planted them in a space where there was mulch, and I tried to move the mulch out of the way for the seeds, which worked until it rained. However, in spite of this, I got 3 or 4 plants. They are quite vigorous. I like you, would not profess myself to be a person that goes out seeking pink plants, but these are impressive. I like the light, feathery look of the foliage too. Mine stood up fine until we had rain storms, and then I had to stake them. I did not get any of the plain, single blooms. Nice to try new plants sometimes, thanks to free seeds!
ReplyDeleteHow much sun did the cosmos take? I didn't get a chance to plant the packet Renee's Garden included with the nasturtiums.
ReplyDeleteThat's a pretty pink. I can see why they keep finding their way in.
ReplyDeleteNeat flower! I , too, enjoy the singles and odd ones! I, like you, wouldn't think you would like so much of the pink, either, but I can see you loving any plant, period!!!! Hehehe. :)
ReplyDeleteHave a good week!
Oooh, it's beautiful. I've never seen this variety before. It's fantastic!
ReplyDeleteVery pretty.
ReplyDeleteas much as I dislike pink I think mother is going to want me to grow these for her...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the detailed review including the oddballs to watch out for!
They're beautifully grown! I know you're not making a compliant, but honestly, if I paid money, and more importantly, invested time and hope and didn't get what I thought I would get, I'd be a little upset. OK. I take that back. I'm not normally that cranky - long day at work. Maybe I'd appreciate the single blooms. The deformed ones are quite intriguing (now I'm being less negative).
ReplyDeleteMy Rose Bon Bon didn't survive the heat so I am thankful you left such a detailed description. They are very pretty! The deformed one does look like the cosmos I grew last year - a single variety. Cosmos seems so easy to grow (well, minus extreme heat) - this year the Bright Lights took off and were big, bright and yellow!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely variety of cosmos! I have grown the standard single variety this year. I would love to grow this new variety next year.
ReplyDelete@Monica, They held up pretty well when they were watered and the stems were, um, turgid.
ReplyDelete@And Sow My Garden Grows, You're welcomed thanks for commenting.
@Gatsby Gardens, I haven't grown them in many years either, but this year I grew three varieties. It was a bit crazy.
@GardenGirl, The deformed one were/are neat. They weren't as neat as the ones who grew like they were suppose to though.
@That Bloomin' Garden, Hope you do get a chance to try them out. They're very nice blooms when they bloom right.
@GardenMom, Funny you should mention that. I started them indoors and had some trouble with them becoming leggy and flopping over. The ones I started outdooors were fine though.
@Shady Gardener, I had mine in full-sun on the back porch. They did pretty well against the brunt of the midday sun around here.
@Laura, As far as pinks go this one wasn't too bad. Pink keeps creeping into the garden, maybe I should just give up and start a pink garden.
@Meemsnyc, I'd never seen it either until this year. I'm a big fan of double blooms.
@Evelyn, Glad you like it.
@Mary C. Ha! A lot of the pink blooms I have in the garden are because my mom liked them. Moms, they're keeping pink flower breeders in business.
@Wendy, That's a very good point. I know I wasn't so forgiving with Burpee when the blooms didn't look like the seed packet and completely agree with you, now that you mention it. I think I'm letting my personal bias influence what I think. Hopefully this issue isn't/won't be so widespread with these seeds. The single blooms, "Seashells," are nice in their own right. I grew those also this year.
@The Running Garlic, Sorry to hear about your summer weather. I grew Bright Lights this year and I have to say that I wasn't that impressed. I grew them because I saw them in a garden last year, but mine didn't look as "bright" as the ones I pictured last year.
@Jennifer, I hope you do give the double variety a shot. They're charming.