Fiery Orange cosmos, pretty sweet carn - gardening - Brief Article

Sunset, Jan, 2000 by Dick Bushnell

* Last spring in Sunset's garden, we set out seedlings of the nine plants named as All-America Selections for 2000. After watching them all grow to maturity, our garden staff was particularly impressed with two plants. Look for seedlings in nurseries this spring, or order seed now from the sources listed at right. Plant in full sun.

'Cosmic Orange' cosmos. Its incadescent orange flowers seem to glow with heat. Waves of the 2-inch-wide, semidouble blooms with ruffled petals appear over a long season on compact plants 1 to 2 1/2 feet tall.

'Indian Summer' sweet corn. With kernels in shades of rusty red, deep plum, sunny yellow. and pearly white, it looks just like old-fashioned Indian corn. But nibble a freshly cooked ear and you discover 'Indian Summer' isn't merely ornamental; it's a delicious supersweet variety. The multicolored kernels form along 8-inch ears on stalks 6 1/2 to 7 feet tail. You can start harvesting about 80 days after sowing.

Seed sources

Nichols Garden Nursery, Albany, OR; (541) 928-9280. Park Seed Company, Greenwood, SC; (800) 845-3369. W Atlee Burpee, Warminster, PA; (800) 888-1447.