Chocolate flower - hardy or sensitive to frost?

Hardy?

The chocolate flower belongs to the perennial group, but is not hardy. Due to its origins - the black cosmos originally comes from California - it is used to a warm to hot climate and does not know any frosty temperatures in the cold season. Although it is now a popular ornamental plant in Germany, it has not adapted to the European climate. So she is not allowed to stay outside in winter.

When to get in house?

Before the first frost, the chocolate flower must be relocated to a warm location. The first night frosts can appear as early as October.

You should also wait until the ice saints are over in mid-May before you get the chocolate flower from your winter quarters.

Note: In flower beds, the chocolate flower impresses with its dark red flowers. However, it is also suitable for keeping in a bucket, which makes it much easier to change location for wintering.

Tips for wintering

The following location conditions are recommended for wintering:

dry location (moisture causes rot)
cool basement room
as dark as possible
Temperatures from 8 ° C to 10 ° C

Note: You should ventilate your cellar on frost-free nights.

Hibernate chocolate flowers in a pot

When keeping the bucket, no further measures are required apart from the relocation. The tuber can easily remain in the substrate of the plant pot.

Hibernate chocolate flowers from the bed

After the chocolate flower has bloomed, only the tuber remains in the soil. that you have to dig up for the winter.

Tips

Would you like to expand your chocolate flower inventory? Then now is the right time to split. To do this, separate as many pieces as you want from the existing tuber and overwinter them as individual specimens.

With the chocolate flower, it is customary to shrink the tubers and hang them in a potato sack during the winter. In very dry cellars, however, we recommend storing them in fresh substrate that you fill in a ventilated wooden box.

After the hibernation

At the end of February and beginning of March it is time to get the chocolate flower used to the rising temperatures. This can be done in the same pot in which the tubers spent the winter. When the weather is nice, the plant can enjoy a few hours in the fresh air. Choose a bright, warm location that is not exposed to direct sunlight.

You should also water your flower regularly from now on. The resumption of fertilizer administration also benefits growth in spring.

Remember, however, that you can only plant your chocolate flower outdoors after the ice saints in mid-May, when the night frosts have completely subsided.