Candy Stripe Cosmos Plants

• Variety: Cosmos bipinnatus 'Candy Stripe'
• Common name: Cosmos / Cosmea / Mexican Aster
• Type: Half-hardy annual
• Flower form: Single
• Colour: White petals edged and striped with carmine-pink
• Height: 90–150 cm (36–60 in)
• Flowering period: June–October
• Position: Full sun (minimum 6 hours)
• Soil: Well-drained, ordinary to poor fertility
• Spacing: 30 cm (12 in)
• Good for cutting: Yes – excellent
• Container suitable: Not ideal (very tall, wind-susceptible)
• Sold as: Jumbo plug seedlings, hand-sown by us
• Plant outdoors: After last frost (mid-May in most areas)
• Delivered: Late April to May by next-day courier. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Candy Stripe – Tall, Dramatic, and Made for Cutting

Candy Stripe is one of the tallest cosmos we grow, reaching well over a metre in most gardens and up to 150 cm in a good summer. The flowers are large, white, each petal edged and splashed with a deep carmine-pink, as if the edges had been dipped in a raspberry glaze. The intensity of the pink varies from flower to flower and even from petal to petal, so the display has a hand-painted, slightly unpredictable quality that solid-coloured cosmos cannot offer. This is a back-of-border plant and one of the best cosmos for cutting.

Those long stems are a real asset in the vase, where Candy Stripe lasts up to 10 days in water. Cut regularly and it repays you with more flowers. When deadheading, take a length of stem down to the first leaf joint rather than just nipping off the spent head. This encourages branching from lower down and produces more flowering shoots. The finely cut, filigreed foliage is part of the appeal too, light and airy above a border or spilling from the top of a tall arrangement. Bees and other pollinators work the open, daisy-like flowers throughout the summer.

Planting Ideas for Cosmos Candy Stripe

Candy Stripe needs height around it. Sensation Purity is the classic partner: both are tall, both have white flowers, and the clean white of Purity makes Candy Stripe's pink markings stand out. Dazzler, with its deep carmine, echoes the pink in the stripes at a darker, more saturated pitch. A drift of all three, loosely mixed, gives you a border with depth and movement from July to October.

Candy Stripe's cottage garden character also makes it a natural companion for lavender at the front of a border. Hidcote or Munstead provide a blue-purple base that the pink-and-white cosmos floats above, and both share a preference for sun and well-drained soil. For compact cosmos better suited to containers, the Sonata series or Xanthos are the ones to look at. See our guide to growing cosmos in pots.

Why Choose Ashridge Cosmos Plugs?

No contract growing, no outside growers. We hand-sow every cosmos plug at our nursery in Somerset, grow them on in our own polytunnels, and harden them off before dispatch. We buy in fresh seed each year because cosmos does not come true from saved seed. What you receive is a strong, garden-ready jumbo plug.

Dispatch is by next-day courier from late April, arriving when conditions suit planting out. Our plant guarantee covers anything that arrives damaged or fails to establish. If you have a question, you will speak to the team who grew your plants.

Frequently Asked Questions

How tall does Cosmos Candy Stripe grow?

Candy Stripe reaches 90–150 cm (3–5 ft), making it one of the tallest cosmos. Height depends on soil: in lean, well-drained ground it stays shorter and stronger; in richer soil it pushes taller and floppier. Cosmos is one of the few garden plants that actively performs worse in fertile ground. Nitrogen-rich soil produces leggy stems, sparse flowers, and weak structure. The best blooms come from poor, unimproved soil with no fertiliser. For full growing advice, see our cosmos growing guide.

Does Cosmos Candy Stripe need staking?

Yes. At this height, support is not optional. Put it in at planting time, before the stems are tall enough to be damaged by wind. Horizontal netting stretched across the bed at 30–40 cm is the most effective method for a group planting. The stems grow up through the netting and it disappears behind the foliage. Without support, a heavy rain followed by wind in August will flatten the lot.

Is Cosmos Candy Stripe good for cutting?

Candy Stripe is one of the best cosmos for cutting. The long stems suit tall vases and the flowers last up to 10 days in water. Cut in the morning, take the stem down to the first leaf joint, and strip the lower foliage. Regular cutting encourages the plant to produce more flowering shoots.

What looks good planted with Cosmos Candy Stripe?

Candy Stripe pairs well with other tall cosmos like Sensation Purity (plain white) and Dazzler (deep carmine). The striped flowers need solid-coloured companions to avoid visual confusion. Lavender at the front of the border provides a contrasting blue-purple base. Browse the full range in our cosmos collection.

How did cosmos end up growing wild in South Africa?

Cosmos reached South Africa as an accidental stowaway in contaminated horsefeed imported during the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902). It naturalised so successfully across the high eastern plains that many South Africans assume it is a native wildflower. It is the same species we grow here, Cosmos bipinnatus, thriving in the poor, dry soils that it prefers.