October 2007
Yes, it's true! I am actually doing a monthly newsletter as opposed to the once every 3 or 6 months that I've done in the past. They will be quickies though so as not to bore you, and this month's is mainly in response to this question that I have been getting via phone and email daily for the past 2 weeks....
"How Do I Over Winter My Chocolate Cosmos?"
Here's the scoop... Chocolate Cosmos are tender perennials (originally from Mexico) and their root systems are tubers, similar to dahlias. They can handle cold to USDA Zone 7 (10 degrees F) however they cannot handle wet winters and the tubers will rot if they do not have excellent drainage.
If you are in a zone colder than zone 8 or in a wet area like we are here in the Pacific Northwest you have a couple options:
1. First, cut off any top growth to about 2" above soil level and if you have your plant in the ground, carefully lift the whole rootball with a garden fork and replant in a pot and let go dormant in a garage (or root cellar or other cool but not freezing area). You could also simply store the ball of tubers as you would dahlia tubers, in a box of sawdust or peat moss. Either way, there is no need to water, the tubers will be dormant for the winter. Plant back outside in April.
2. If you have your Chocolate Cosmos in a pot and you are in a Zone 7 or 8 but are concerned about wet winters, simply pull the whole pot into the garage or under an eve and let go dormant (yes, you can cut off the top growth to 2" above the soil - they get looking pretty shaggy by this time of the year).
If you still have questions, shoot me an email marie@chocolateflowerfarm.com
Angelica gigas
I have to admit that I am in love with this plant. It is a short-lived biennial that flowers in it's second year from seed. It likes full sun to part shade and is hardy to Zone 5. Seed is not usually offered commercially because it must be sown fresh and by the following Spring germination rates drop below commercially accepted levels. They are generous self-sowers so most collectors are able to get seed from friends ... and that is what we would like to offer you....
We have a nice crop of seed and we have sown ours for next year's crop (we sow in flats and let them winter outdoors, as nature intended), so while our supplies last we would like to offer a free packet of Angelica gigas seed with all orders that request the free seeds on the order form. This includes gift certificate purchases (which have no expire dates) so you can use them for yourself (how clever!).
One of the funnest parts of gardening for me is in creating our own strain of chocolate plants and our Sunflower BOB is one example (others are our Chocolate Delphinium and the Dark Chocolate Nicotiana ... more on that in a future newsletter). BOB stands for Bordering on Black and we are continuing to select the seeds from our darkest of the darkies Sunflowers and each year work toward the perfect BOB Sunflower. This season we have a small amount of seed that we can share, but not a lot. We cannot guarantee all will be BOB either since we have a huge honeybee population here and there may be some hanky-panky going on between BOB and our other more normal chocolate sunflowers... Regardless, if you prefer a free pkt of BOB seed instead of Angelica gigas please note that on your order. We will not be parting with a lot of BOB seed since we plan to also slip several BOB seeds into our Chocolate Sunflower Mix for our various Chocolate Garden Seed Kits The free BOB seed offer will be good through November 10th.
News From The Garden Shed
We are filling our gift shop and online store up for the holidays with our Chocolate Candles, Chocolate Garden Seed Kits and other "distinctive gifts with a chocolate twist". We hope to have our new Edible Chocolate Garden Seed Kit available by December 1st... We are waiting for the Chocolate Corn seed to cure. We would like to once again thank all of you for such wonderful support. We love what we do and we love that so many of our customers have become our good friends.
On that note ... the secret code for this month's newsletter discount of 10% (good through Nov 10th) is friends
One last note... We are beginning to offer our line of candles and seed kits to retailers. If you know of a retailer in your area that you think would like to carry the most amazing chocolate candle ever and/or our line of seed kits, please let them know about us or let us know about them and we'll toss some seeds your way ;-) ... Thanks so much!
All the best!
Marie & Bill
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