Cosmos Sensation Dazzler

A deep saturated crimson-magenta with a velvet surface, on flowers 8 to 10cm across. It is neither pink nor red but sits in between, and it is far and away the boldest thing in the cosmos range.

It is also the tallest, at 120 to 150cm, which makes it useful as a seasonal screen in front of a fence or anything else you would rather not look at. That height needs managing. Staking or netting goes in early, before the plants need it, because a cosmos this tall that goes over in an August storm does not stand back up.

The colour will not compromise. Put it in a soft pastel scheme and it takes the scheme over; put it with white, lime green or deep gold and it is electric. Vase life runs seven to ten days from stems cut as the buds crack open. It belongs to the Sensation series, bred for cutting, so the stems are strong and the flowers large. Lean ground, full sun, and no feeding.