My Deer Garden

Plant record · Annual

Is Cosmos deer resistant?

Cosmos sp.

Pink cosmos flower and ferny foliage
Photo by Dick Culbert, CC BY 2.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.
Damage step 3 of 4 · Occasionally Severely Damaged

Partly. Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.

Type
Annual
Hardiness
Grown as an annual, any zone
Light
Full sun
Bloom
Spring and Summer and Fall
Maintenance
Low

Damage steps follow a published university field scale. How plants are rated.

About Cosmos

Sow direct and never feed it, because rich soil gives six feet of ferny foliage and almost no flowers. Deadhead consistently and it runs until hard frost. Self-sows freely enough that one sowing often supplies several years.

Protecting Cosmos

Whether this survives comes down to local pressure, so decide on the options before it gets browsed rather than after.

  1. 1How tall a deer fence needs to beEight feet, and six is the most common expensive mistake in deer fencing.
  2. 2Repellent that actually worksThe egg-based recipe that reproduces the active ingredient in the commercial sprays that win university trials.
  3. 3Check it is actually deerDeer tear and leave a ragged stub. A clean 45-degree cut is rabbits, and slug holes get blamed on deer constantly.

What to plant instead of Cosmos

Same plant type, hardy in the same zones, and rated better for deer. If Cosmos keeps getting eaten, these go in the same spot.

Soil and care

Soil pH
6 to 7.5
Drainage
Average garden soil
Water
Low
Spacing
12 to 18 in apart
Growth rate
Fast
Maintenance
Low

Where Cosmos grows

Hardy across every state on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering. Select any state, including one it will not grow in, for what is resistant there.

Alabama — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Alaska — hardy here. Zones 1 to 8.Arizona — hardy here. Zones 5 to 10.Arkansas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.California — hardy here. Zones 7 to 10.Colorado — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Connecticut — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Delaware — hardy here. Zones 7 to 7.District of Columbia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 8.Florida — hardy here. Zones 8 to 11.Georgia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Hawaii — hardy here. Zones 9 to 12.Idaho — hardy here. Zones 3 to 7.Illinois — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Indiana — hardy here. Zones 5 to 6.Iowa — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Kansas — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Kentucky — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.Louisiana — hardy here. Zones 8 to 10.Maine — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Maryland — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Massachusetts — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Michigan — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Minnesota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Mississippi — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Missouri — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Montana — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Nebraska — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Nevada — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New Hampshire — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.New Jersey — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.New Mexico — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New York — hardy here. Zones 4 to 7.North Carolina — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.North Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 4.Ohio — hardy here. Zones 5 to 6.Oklahoma — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Oregon — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Pennsylvania — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Rhode Island — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.South Carolina — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.South Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Tennessee — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Texas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Utah — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.Vermont — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Virginia — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Washington — hardy here. Zones 5 to 8.West Virginia — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Wisconsin — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Wyoming — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.
Hardy on zone rangeNot hardy — still linked
Choose a state from the listeasier on a phone

Common questions about Cosmos

Is Cosmos deer resistant?
Cosmos (Cosmos sp.) is rated Occasionally Severely Damaged, step 3 of 4 on the damage scale this site uses. Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
What hardiness zones does Cosmos grow in?
Cosmos is hardy in USDA zones 2 to 11. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat. That is the range across the genus, so a named species or cultivar may be narrower.
Does Cosmos grow in shade?
No. Cosmos wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.

Browse from here

Every list Cosmos belongs to.

All annuals·Sometimes destroyed·Full sun plants

Hardy in these zones

Zone 3·Zone 4·Zone 5·Zone 6·Zone 7·Zone 8·Zone 9

Damage ratings follow the four-step field scale published by Rutgers University. Growing data is compiled from state extension sources and still being verified record by record. Last reviewed .