I bought some chocolate cosmos from michigan bulb. It says they are hardy to zone 6 - I am sort of in between zones 5 and 6 near lake erie in ohio. Has anyone had any luck overwintering them? I was going to plant them in a protected area, but they are just little babys....

hi rainie
im in zone 6, eries only a few hours drive, i live about 10 minutes from west virgina border,, ive never had chocolate cosmos, but all my other cosmos bribht lights,,sensations,,an sea shells, ive always had to reseed, once and awile theyll pop up ,but its better to reseed them. my sea shells never bloom till fall so mabe theres still time for your chocolates to bloom, keep some seeds just to be on the safe side
hope i helped some

ops!
the chocolates are sapost to be perinals hu? well if my annuals pop up every now and then im shure your perinals will do fine, usealy when your close to another zone you can go by it, just put some extra mulch on it this winter,

I hope they make it, but I am really not sure... I ordered them eeons ago from michigan bulb (back in August)but the haven't even shipped yet :p so I'm sure the little once inch plants are going to kick it before they go to seed and I'll never get to see them.... This was my first year ordering plants online, I learned my lesson to check the shipping dates, I was sooo looking forward to them. I guess I will just mulch like crazy and hope for the best, do you think I could plant them in a pot and take them in for the winter?

Chocolate cosmos grows from a tuber, sort of like a dahlia. I'm in zone 6b/7a and mine overwinter just fine. I would do 2 things: make sure it's planted in well drained soil and mulch to protect it. It is late to come up in spring, so mark the spot where you plant it.

Thanks - but I'm a little skeptical....

Mine get about 2' tall about 1' wide. They don't spread very much and I've never had them reseed like annual cosmos does. I'll check to see if I have a photo.