Oh, Cosmos ‘Xanthos’, how I want to love you, but you’re making it very difficult. This 2016 Fleuroselect Gold Medal Winner has soft yellow blooms that become white on their outer edges. The flowers are quite lovely:
Unfortunately only about two in every 20 blooms is blemish-free or opens fully for me. Most of the flowers I’m seeing look like this:
Or this:
Or this:
What I like about this cosmos is that it’s short-statured (20-24″ tall) and the color blends so nicely with bold or soft colors. But I’m at a loss to explain why I’m getting so few decent flowers.
Xanthos grows in a nice, compact clump and the plants bloom heavily. I will probably try this cultivar again next year just to see if the blemished flowers are a fluke. Better luck next year, ‘Xanthos’.