Competing against a wide range of finalists to scoop a well-deserved runner-up position in the 2024 RHS Chelsea Plant of The Year, Cosmos Cherry Chocolate is a new twist on an old favourite. Here’s everything you need to know about this standout Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs.
New colour, same delicious scent
The chocolate cosmos, Cosmos atrosanguineus, is always popular for its dark chocolate-coloured and chocolate-scented flowers. Existing varieties are all fairly similar and it can be difficult to tell them apart. However, we now have a breakthrough – the first chocolate cosmos with flowers in a completely new cherry-red colour, which still retain that much-loved chocolate fragrance.
Cherry Chocolate is the first release from a new breeding programme run by previous Plant of The Year breeder Charles Valin. Not only are they a unique new colour, but the flowers are also larger than those of any other variety at 7cm across. The golden pollen sparkles against the rich, dark petals.
In addition, Cherry Chocolate plants are more compact than those of other varieties, resisting the tendency to become tall and leggy. The flower stems are shorter, so the flowers sit more closely above the foliage. These qualities make it ideal for containers.
The final standout feature of this impressive new Gardeners often use the word variety when referring to a specific plant, but the correct botanical term is 'cultivar'. Whichever word you use, it means a distinctive plant or plants, given a specific cultivar name and usually bred to enhance certain characteristics, such as flower or fruit size, colour, flavour or fragrance, plant size, hardiness, disease resistance, etc. Additionally, it is worth knowing that, botanically, variety has another meaning - it refers to a naturally-occurring distinct plant that only has slight differences in its looks. For example, Malva alcea var. fastigiata differs from typical plants by having an upright habit.
How was Cosmos Cherry Chocolate developed?
Once thought to be extinct in its A native plant is one that originated or arrived naturally in a particular place without human involvement. In the British Isles, native plants are those that were here during the last ice age or have arrived unaided since.
Cherry Chocolate was developed by Charles Valin, the leading plant breeder of his generation, who was awarded the prestigious RHS Reginald Cory Cup in 2013 for his outstanding plant breeding work. He began working on cosmos in 2019 and this is the first release from his new programme.
This breakthrough is not the result of crossing with other species – an approach that failed in the past – or of Genes are small sections of DNA that code for particular traits. During sexual reproduction, genes of both parents are mixed to create a genetically different offspring. Plants grown from seed may not be 'true to type' and look like their parents, but genetic variation can be beneficial, creating new, interesting characteristics and sometimes improving resilience to environmental conditions or disease. On the other hand, plants grown from cuttings are genetically identical to their parents.
How to grow Cosmos Cherry Chocolate
Plant Cherry Chocolate in rich, well-drained soil in full sun, setting the The roots and accompanying soil when a plant is removed from a container or lifted from the ground.
Mulch is a layer of material, at least 5cm (2in) thick, applied to the soil surface in late autumn to late winter (Nov-Feb). It is used to provide frost protection, improve plant growth by adding nutrients or increasing organic matter content, reducing water loss from the soil, for decorative purposes and suppressing weeds. Examples include well-rotted garden compost and manure, chipped bark, gravel, grit and slate chippings.
A cloche is a small, portable, protective structure made of glass or rigid transparent plastic used to protect plants, especially overwintered and early vegetables, from wet and cold weather and to warm the soil before planting.
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Cherry Chocolate makes an ideal container plant for a sunny deck or patio. Try placing it near seating to best appreciate the fragrance and admire the detail of the golden pollen contrasting against cherry red petals.
Where can I buy Cherry Chocolate cosmos?
You can buy Cosmos atrosanguineus Cherry Chocolate (‘Vg001’) from RHS Plants, Thompson & Morgan, Hayloft Plants and other mail order suppliers.
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