Perennials are the mainstays of our gardens but many of them bloom for only a week or two and then their show is over for the year. Coreopsis, pronounced core-ee-OP-sis, is a perennial whose bloom lasts for two or three months. Coreopsis is also known as tickseed.
There are two cultivars whose flowers seem to float above delicate looking, yet strong, stems. The first is Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’ whose 1” soft yellow blossoms are held 1’-2’ off the ground. The other is C. rosea whose rose-pink blooms have yellow centers. Both are mounding plants with soft needle-like leaves. Both cultivars do best in full sun but C. rosea can tolerate partial shade. A strong rain will knock the stems down but they will pop right back up when they dry.
There are some coreopsis cultivars with more substantial flowers. C. grandiflora ‘Rising Sun’ is easily grown from seed. The 1”-2” double flowers are bright yellow with mahogany flecks at the center. Plants grow to 20” the first year and up to 36” thereafter. C. grandiflora “Early Sunrise” has golden yellow semi-double flowers and C. rosea ‘Heaven’s Gate’ grows 12”-15” tall and sports beautiful 1”-1½” rose-pink flowers with deep red eyes and yellow centers.
New this year is ‘Presto’, a neat 10” tall ball-shaped plant that shines from early summer to fall with 2” golden-yellow blooms. From seed to bloom is just 100 days. Also new is ‘Jethro Tull’ coreopsis. The unusual golden petals are fluted and attract butterflies and hummingbirds to the perennial border. ‘Jethro Tull’ grows to about 15 inches tall and has the mounded shape typical of coreopsis.
All coreopsis do best in full sun in average soil. They are drought tolerant once established and do well under stress. Overly rich soils cause the stems to flop. Deadheading (which can be quite tedious on ‘Moonbeam’ which produces several hundred flowers) promotes re-bloom for an even longer season. You may find that the bloom season is sufficiently long without deadheading.
Coreopsis spreads slowly outward and is easy to divide in spring or fall. After several years the middle of the plant may die but the edges can easily be dug up and replanted.
Coreopsis is a good border plant for the formal garden. The delicate foliage and yellow flowers make a striking contrast with silvery dusty miller and deep violet flowers such as lobelia and salvia, ornamental grasses like purple millet and cheerful Johnny-jump-ups. On the other hand, coreopsis is versatile enough to combine well with less formal prairie plantings of native grasses, purple coneflowers, asters, bonesets, liatris and other yellow daisies.
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