Misc	Wildlife Value
Area	Frost Pockets, Scotland & The North
Soil	Poor/Dry
Colour	Apricot/Orange Shades
Type	Seedling
Also Good	Repeat Flowering
Flowering	May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov

Cosmea bipinnatus Antiquity

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SIZES	1	2-2	3+
6 Maxiplug Pack	NOT AVAILABLE AT PRESENT £5.46	NOT AVAILABLE AT PRESENT£5.04	NOT AVAILABLE AT PRESENT£4.80
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£5.46

Cosmos Antiquity

This really is a rather special variety of cosmos, in a number of ways. First, the colour. Antiquity opens a rich burgundy red, with deep plum at the base of each petal. It then fades gracefully to shades of salmon, bronze and rose, like a beautiful antique tapestry. The flowers are daisy-like and open, so a real draw for bees, butterflies and other useful garden pollinators. Like all cosmos varieties, it's a real 'do-er', flowering on and on all summer, from June right into the colder months of November, and sometimes beyond. This is always helped with judicious and timely deadheading of the flowers – the more you deadhead, the more this cosmos will flower. At 60cm, Antiquity is also smaller than a lot of the other cosmos varieties so you won't need to stake it to keep it from flopping over in late summer. If you fancy planting the taller cosmos, there are plenty to choose from online, in a great selection of colours, too.

A garden treasure

If you've fallen for the charms of Antiquity, then the best place to plant is at the front of a sunny border, or in pots - again, in the sun. And wait a little while before you plant them out if your seedlings are mini, or you may find they fall prey to slugs and snails if they're not sturdy enough to cope with a nibble or two. Create drifts of colour by planting Antiquity in bold groups – 5, 7 or 9 at a time, ideally – or drift in and out with other, slightly taller varieties of Cosmos, such as Sonata White, a lovely pure white contrast to Antiquity's subtle shades. Its faded colours would tone beautifully in a big terracotta pot, underplanted with some burgundy heucheras perhaps, with dark-leaved cannas or dahlias for height.

Cosmos Antiquity in brief

Half-hardy Annual
Colour: Pink
Height: 60cm
Planting Months: April to June/July
Flowering: June to November
Plant Spacing: 30cm
Foliage: finely cut

A Mexican visitor

Cosmos are sometimes known at Mexican asters, as they're originally from Mexico, where they grow as perennials. They're not hardy enough for that here, so we grow them as annuals in the UK.

Plant Cosmos Antiquity in well prepared, moist soil that ideally was enriched with a little organic matter the previous autumn. Not too much as Cosmos flower better if the soil is not overly rich. Water well after planting and for at least a week after that just to make sure they establish well.

Cosmos also grow very well in containers but remember that they can reach 100 cms in ideal conditions so we would suggest using pot sizes of at least 5 Litres and preferably a bit more. Any general purpose compost will do here.

The main requirements are that your plants have enough light and water - they grow very fast and flower hugely through summer so moisture is important. They can cope with a little shade but flower better in full sun. In general, they need an absolute minimum of 4 hours direct light a day, but 6-8 hours would be better.

Because you are buying seedlings, you can plant your cosmos into their final flowering positions immediately. Space your plants 35-50 cm apart and (in a bed) plant them in drifts of rather than singly. They will either need a 90 cms cane per plant (which should be pushed in about 30 cms deep and about 5 cm from a plant) or a support made of twine or pea/bean netting. This should be stretched between canes about 40 cms above ground level and the cosmos can then grow through it. It is not pretty at first but the plants disguise it very quickly and it is an effective solution (if you are anti-plastic, you can also make a cat's cradle of twine between canes around the outside of the planting). Just don't plant a group that is so big you can't reach the middle...

As flowers develop cut them or dead head when they are over and your cosmos will carry on flowering all summer long. A well-grown plant can quite literally produce a hundred flowers or so in a season.

To maintain flower quality and size, you can use a high potash and phosphate fertiliser every fortnight throughout summer Home-made comfrey tea is perfect or one of the specialised tomato fertilisers will do very well.

Read our full terms and conditions here.

Delivery: Our standard delivery charges are:

Small box (Orders containing only seedlings or rooted cuttings) £7.20 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £60 inc VAT)
Standard box (Bareroots up to 1.2m) £11.40 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £60 inc VAT)
Large box (Pots up to and incl. 7.5L) £15.00 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £100 inc VAT)
Trees & Hedging (Bareroots & trees 1.2m+) £18.00 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £120 inc VAT)
Pallets (Root balls, large pots, trees etc) £60.00 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £240 inc VAT)

Because couriers sometimes experience delays, we schedule delivery by week, not by day. Therefore, please plan your planting day for the weekend at the end of the delivery week or for the week following delivery, at the earliest.
We will email you the day before your plants are due to arrive.

*Surcharges to the Highlands and Islands still apply.

Payment: We do not charge your card until we begin to prepare your order for packing.

Guarantee: If any plants die within a year, we will replace them. We only ask that you follow our planting & growing instructions and sent us clear photographs of the dead plants in situ, so we can help to make sure that the replacement plants succeed. You only pay for the delivery of the replacements.

Please note that our guarantee is void if there is a hosepipe ban in your area: your newly planted hedging must be watered in dry weather while it is establishing. The best way to water is very thoroughly every few days: at least once a week if there is no heavy rain.

Our nursery has been supplying container grown and bareroot hedging plants to gardeners, farmers and town planners since 1949. Our website started in 2003, so we do understand the concerns that you may have about buying hedging plants online. If any of your plants are damaged when they arrive or if you are otherwise not satisfied with your order after you inspect it, please repackage it and contact us. We will give you a refund or send replacements and send a courier to come and collect the unwanted plants.

Ashridge Nurseries is working as normal, you can see Current Delivery Information Here

Cosmos Antiquity Seedlings

Cosmea bipinnatus Antiquity

Cosmos Antiquity

Cosmos Antiquity in brief

Bareroot planting is best done between October and April
Bareroot and potted - what's the difference?

Ashridge Nurseries is working as normal, you can see Current Delivery Information Here

Cosmos Antiquity Seedlings

Cosmea bipinnatus Antiquity

Cosmos Antiquity

Cosmos Antiquity in brief

Bareroot planting is best done between October and April Bareroot and potted - what's the difference?

Bareroot planting is best done between October and April
Bareroot and potted - what's the difference?