Orange Cosmos
Cosmos sulphureus
Found in garden edges, roadsides, disturbed areas; commonly cultivated horticulturally, rarely escaped. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 2–3 feet
- Spread
- 1–3 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to wet
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- August to November
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 15 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Cosmos
- Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
- Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
- Papaipema marginidensBrick-Red Borer
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Papilio polyxenesBlack Swallowtail, Celery Caterpillar, Fennel Worm, Desert Black Swallowtail, Parsnip Swallowtail
- Rachiplusia ouGray Looper
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
4Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Cosmos
- Dieunomia heteropoda
- Megachile pugnata
- Melissodes dentiventris
- Melissodes trinodis
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimPlant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 2a–11b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Yellow, orange or red
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “August to November” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow, orange or red” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 2a–11b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “2–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Cosmos; Panchita; Sulphur Cosmos
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications