Illustration
Bright Lights
Cosmos sulphureus 'Bright Lights'
Bright Lights blooms from June through October.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Bright Lights
Plant it in full sun. It prefers low water. Expect it to reach about 3 ft tall and 1.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 1 year (not yet checked).
No toxicity note is on file for Bright Lights. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant. The bloom months and water need on this page were not, and each fact above says which. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Bright Lights
Wait until all danger of frost has passed, then plant out Bright Lights into warm soil; in most zones that means late spring. Planted then, it flowers from June to October.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Bright Lights get?
3 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult1.5 ftwideSee Bright Lights in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Bright Lights
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Bright Lights about 1.5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Bright Lights to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Bright Lights' height, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags were checked against 8 published sources on July 31, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- NC State ExtensionPlant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, years to mature size and trait tags
- edenbrothers.comEden Brothersheight, hardiness zones, sun, years to mature size and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Outsideprideheight, hardiness zones, sun, years to mature size and trait tags
- 3porchfarm.com3 Porch Farmheight, sun, years to mature size and trait tags
- seedstore.comSeedStore.comheight, sun, years to mature size and trait tags
- applewoodseed.comApplewood Seed Coheight, sun and trait tags
- trueleafmarket.comTrue Leaf Marketheight, years to mature size and trait tags
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.