Cosmos Flower – Meaning and Symbolism

Cosmos flower is a daisy-like flower that attracts the attention of butterflies and birds, but people love it above all.

This gorgeous flower has a specific chocolate scent, which makes it unique and easy to recognize. You wouldn’t even have to look around, you will get familiar with the Cosmos flower’s scent the first time you feel it. Cosmos flower has a cute shape – bowl or cup one and grows up to 6 feet in height.

You can grow the Cosmos flower in your garden, but it also makes great cut flowers, so you can decorate your home with it during winter.

What Is the Meaning of the Cosmos flower?

Every flower has a specific meaning and the Cosmos flower is no different when it comes to this topic.

The main meanings of the Cosmos flower are:

• Beauty,
• Order,
• Peace,
• Wholeness,
• Modesty.

Cosmos flower represents peace and order in the first place, but it also carries romantic meaning as it tells your partner that the two of you will walk together through life, hand in hand.

You can also gift the Cosmos flower to your beloved one to express how happy and thankful you are for just having such a great person in your life. People born in October get the Cosmos flower all the time, as this flower stands for October babies.

The Etymological Meaning of the Cosmos Flower

The word cosmos originally comes from the Greek language and it represents love and beauty and literally means harmonized/balanced universe. Cosmos flower comes in many vibrant colors and has a deep and sensual fragrance that send off a message of love and peacefulness.

Oppositely from most of the other flowers, the Cosmos flower has a short, but interesting history. There is a legend that the Cosmos flower got its name by a Spanish priest who developed these flowers in mission gardens of a monastery. The priest noticed how symmetrical and aligned petals of the Cosmos flowers were so that he decided to name them by Greek name for the ordered universe – cosmos.

Mexico is the natural habitat of the Cosmos flower. There you can see the species such as Cosmos bi-pinnatus and sulphereus. First one is also known as Mexican Aster, while other is the Yellow Cosmos. Cosmos astrosanguineus is one of the most popular species of the Cosmic color and people call it the Chocolate Cosmos as it has specific color and fragrance that remind of chocolate.

There is a reason why the Cosmos flower has a nickname “flower of love” and we will explain it more in the following paragraphs.

The Symbolism of the Cosmos Flower

People used to send a message of their deepest feelings and love through the Cosmos flower. This is one of the common flowers ladies get on Valentine’s Day, as it symbolism walking together through life and says that life is beautiful.

The chocolate flower, which is another nickname for the Cosmos flower in the shade of chocolate, speaks of how deep and strong your love towards a receiver of this flower is.

Cosmos flower was adopted as the emblem of the organization for World Kindness (World Kindness Movement) in 1999. This flower also symbolizes small tourist attractions, as it is kind of a small flower but carries strong symbolic and it is beautiful.

For example, the Cosmos Hanatsumi is a symbol of Harvest Hill. Tourists can attend this event from late September to early October. During this period, they can walk through a 4,000 square meters farm and pick flowers to take home. What is great, the sum of money tourists pay for entering the event is symbolic.

Cosmos Flower – Color and Meaning

Cosmos flower has a familiar appearance of the crown – a ring surrounded by florets. This gorgeous flower comes in various bright colors, such as white, orange, pink, yellow, scarlet, but you can see the chocolate Cosmos too.

If you would want to surprise your beloved one and show how much you care about that person, maybe the pink Cosmos flowers draw your attention. Pink Cosmos flower is a symbol of femininity, romantic love, tenderness, motherly love, hugs, and kisses. As the pink Cosmos flower is not aggressive in color, don’t gift it to a person towards which you feel a deep and strong attraction, as the pink color is made for soft and tender emotions. Your mother, girlfriend, or a friend would love the Cosmos flower, as this is a universal gift to all women that take a special place in your heart.

White Cosmos flower symbolizes modesty in the first place, but also faith, hope, order, sincerity, openness, and purity. This flower color is ideal for wedding ceremonies and baptisms, especially for babies born in October.

Scarlet color is the fiery variant of the Cosmos flower, as it represents energy, passion, desire, straightforwardness, optimism, and good vibes in general. You can gift the scarlet Cosmos flower to your beloved one to express the strength of your emotions and desire toward that person.

On the other side, the scarlet Cosmos flower might be a great gift for a friend, as it is positive and transfers good energy and optimism.

Another color that stands for optimism and the positive side is yellow. Yellow Cosmos flower is a great way to brighten someone’s day or to even gift it to yourself and attract some new and good things in life. Decorate your home with the yellow Cosmos flowers and wait for the moment when something surprising happens, as it surely will within the next few days.

Botanical Characteristics of the Cosmos Flower

Genus of the Cosmos flower developed over 20 species of flowers and plants from Asteraceae family. Some other plants in this family are Daisies, sunflowers, and Asters. Cosmos flower might be both annual and perennial plant. The other category of the Cosmos flowers is represented by Rhizomes, which are propagated by division.

In case you already planted the Cosmos flowers in pots, you can easily transfer them to the ground, as they wouldn’t mind the change. Plant the Cosmos seeds in pots and trays about 6 weeks before the last spring frost and add some good mixture in it. As you notice the plants grow, go for larger pots – up to 5 inches when you have 3 inch-tall plant. Cosmos flower likes more of a neutral soil, which means you don’t have to enrich it.

If you, however, try to enrich the ground around the Cosmos flower, you can expect the growth of the leaves on the expense of the flowers – which is something you probably don’t want to achieve.

On the other side, growing the Cosmos flower from the seed will take up to 7 weeks to bloom, so be patient.

If you are wondering what is the best time to plant the Cosmos flower, then do this before the frost, which means September or November is the ultimate period. Sow the seeds of the Cosmos flower directly to the ground and leave up to 12 inches of distance between each Cosmos flower. Make sure to press the Cosmos flower seeds to the ground, but don’t cover it. The great thing is that seeds of your Cosmos flowers germinate quickly.

Remove the dead Cosmos flowers regularly, as this way your plants will bloom longer – up to several weeks more. Cosmos flower doesn’t like too much fertilizing or too much watering, as this affects its production negatively.

Still, even though the Cosmos flower is resistant to drought, don’t leave it dry for days – give it enough water. We already mentioned the Cosmos flower doesn’t tolerate frost, so wait for the first frost to remove the old and dried Cosmos flower and prepare the plant for the next season. What is more, you can use the old Cosmos flowers as compost for the new ones.

If some of the seeds of your Cosmos flowers fall onto the ground while you cut them, you can expect some new plants in the spring. Cosmos flowers obviously don’t need too much care as they can regrow easily on the bare ground. Wherever you live – there is a great chance that you can grow the Cosmos flower, as it grows in most of the regions across the world. This all makes the Cosmos flower one of the easiest flowers to grow.

As some species of the Cosmos flower grow really tall, you want to protect them from one of the factors that might affect the plants negatively – wind. Tall Cosmos flowers need some support, so make sure to plant them somewhere near a fence or stake them.

We already mentioned that the Cosmos flowers make great cut flowers and awesome arrangements and decorations. You can cut some of the Cosmos flowers in your gardens anytime after blooming. Still, the prettiest Cosmos cut flowers are made when you cut the flowers after their petals have just opened. If you do so, your flowers will live for about a week in water, so simply strip off the leaves and place the stems in a vase.

Cosmos Flower – Fun Fact

Cosmos flower grows from 3 to 6 feet in height.

If you plant the Cosmos flower, you will see it blooms twice during the same year.

Cosmos flower’s leaves come in a couple of shapes – pinnate, bipinnate, and simple and each pair of leaves is arranged oppositely.

Chocolate Cosmos flower smells like chocolate, but it has a specific vanilla fragrance too.
Lace Cosmos flower is one of the most beautiful and most popular species of this flower.

When the Cosmos plant opens its flower, it becomes something like glue for pollinators, such as lacewings, tachinid flies, hoverflies, and parasitic wasps, as these are overall beneficial both for the Cosmos flower and other plants in your garden. This means the Cosmos flower provides free pollination services for their plant friends.

Conclusion

Gorgeous Cosmos flower is one of the top-rated flowers when it comes to its fragrance, as you would probably want to eat them after you get that touch of chocolate.

On the other side, the Cosmos flower is modest and doesn’t reveal a luxurious impression, but it surely does represents true values, such as love, patience, peace, and wholeness.

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