As we all deal with the changing climate conditions that affect our outdoor spaces, I increasingly find myself looking for plant species that will be resilient, wildlife friendly and give a cheerful pop of colour and movement, whatever the weather throws at us. The coreopsis family of plants fits this brief perfectly.
Native to North and Central America and with approximately 80 different varieties, coreopsis, also known as tickseed, is a member of the daisy family (Asteraceae). The perennial varieties, which come back year after year, are most often found in yellow, which can range from a pale cream to a vibrant, zingy sunshine colour, and occasionally in pink. Annuals, which flower and die all within one season, expand the colour palette to also include orange and red varieties and their various leaf forms offer great texture too.
They bring a reliable burst of colour that lasts from June right through to the first frosts and are equally at home in a pot or in the ground, nestled in a traditional cottage garden, in prairie style planting or in a wildflower meadow. The taller coreopsis varieties can make great cut flowers too.
Coreopsis are easy to grow as long as you have a sunny spot for them and will thrive in most soil types as long as they don’t get too wet. That said, I garden with a clay soil, in an area with higher than average rainfall, and mine returned for a third time this year looking as cheerful as ever. It’s easy to grow and care for coreopsis either from seed or by division and offers great value and enjoyment year after year.
Coreopsis is also a great choice of plant to attract wildlife into your space. Butterflies, bees and other pollinators collect nectar from the flowers and birds love to eat the seeds too.
Which coreopsis to choose?
Although I’m always tempted to pick my favourite colours or leaf shapes, the best advice for success is to choose a variety that suits your growing space and the amount of care you’re able to give your plant. It’s also good to consider the attractiveness to pollinators which much prefer the single flowered varieties which allow easy access to the pollen and whether you hope to be able to cut the flowers to also enjoy them inside your home.
A key consideration when choosing your coreopsis is the size of space you have available and whether it will be grown in a container or in the ground. Shorter varieties are perfect for pots, planters, window boxes and the front of borders while larger varieties are best suited to the middle of a border.
A quick online search will give you some great suggestions but my absolute favourite is Coreopsis Moonbeam which has soft lemon yellow flowers that float above fern-like leaves and never needs deadheading. This is closely followed by the gorgeous apricot coloured Coreopsis Mango Punch, which produces a continual mass of flowers and Coreopsis Early Sunrise for its vibrant yellow flowers that really live up to its name.
Where to plant coreopsis?
Coreopsis grows best in a spot that mostly gets full sun or very light shade. They cope with most soil types with the exception of excessively wet or waterlogged ground.
Perennial coreopsis grows well in borders mixed with other sun-loving plants, shrubs, or grasses. Annual coreopsis gives bright bursts of summer colour in pots and borders too.
Taller varieties are best grown in the ground and can look lovely mixed with other plants in informal planting designs, a summer meadow display or a Mediterranean style garden. Equally they also make a bold, classy statement in a more formal space when used as a single colour and their brightness can shine through. Shorter, more compact varieties are ideal for pots as well as borders. Whatever you choose, they’re sure to make you smile.
When to plant coreopsis?
Perennial coreopsis grown either from seed or by division respond well to being planted out in late spring so that they have time to get established before the warmer summer weather. They may be planted outside during the summer but will need to be regularly watered until their roots are fully established.
For annuals, wait until all danger of frost has passed and the weather has warmed up a little bit.
How to plant coreopsis?
Dig your planting hole twice as large as the plant’s entire pot and/or root system and if your soil is really poor, add some organic matter to improve the moisture retention in the soil, while still allowing adequate drainage. If you have a clay soil, a bit of grit at the base of the hole can help the roots from becoming waterlogged during heavy rain and over the winter.
Place the plant into the hole with all of the leaves sitting just above the surface of the soil.
Fill in the areas around the plant with soil and firm them down gently. When you’ve completed your planting, water well and if you can, add a thick layer of mulch to help retain the moisture and protect any young shoots. Learn more here Marvellous Mulching
If you have more than one plant, a group of three can give dramatic impact and a really full display of colour, just remember to leave enough space between them for light and air to circulate and to avoid overcrowding when they are fully grown.
How to propagate coreopsis?
You can sow seeds for annual coreopsis directly into the ground where you want them to grow in the early spring. Seed can also be sown under cover in pots or trays from late winter to spring. Sow your coreopsis seed onto moist soil and cover thinly with no more than a few millimetres of soil, as they need light to germinate. When they start to grow, thin the seedlings to approximately 10-15 cm apart, discarding the least healthy and vigorous plants.
Perennial coreopsis is best sown under cover in the same way in late winter or early spring and then grown on in pots before they are hardened off and planted out after the last frost.
In addition to growing coreopsis from seed, the other main method of propagation is by division. This can be done with perennial coreopsis plants that are at least two to three years old and have formed good-sized clumps.
Carefully dig out the whole plant ensuring you take as much of the root system as possible, divide the plant into clumps, each with its own leaf and root system and then replant each clump. For more details on this easy process, learn more here Divide and Multiply
Known as basal cuttings, in spring, side shoots of perennial coreopsis can also be carefully removed from the main plant with a small portion of root attached. Place into small pots and grow on to plant later in the year.
How to care for coreopsis?
Stop slugs eating coreopsis
Tasty young coreopsis leaves can attract slugs so, until they are established and can fend for themselves, take some simple measures to give them a bit of protection using the tips here Slug Stopping Strategies
Watering coreopsis
Coreopsis planted in the ground are very self-sufficient once established but if the summer is a particularly hot one with little rainfall, your plant may need to be watered. A good soak, directed at the base of the plant, rather than a light sprinkle from above, will conserve water and ensure the plant’s roots get the moisture they need. Those planted in containers may need regular watering to keep the compost lightly moist and a little feed every two weeks or so over the summer months.
Deadheading coreopsis
To keep your plant blooming all summer, removing the dead flower heads is really helpful. Look out for the pointed shape, soft heads (the buds are firm and rounded) and following the stem down to the next set of leaves, snip just above them. This will ensure the plant produces more flowers, rather than seeds. If you can, try to leave some heads on, especially towards the end of summer as the seeds provide a great food source for the birds.
Supporting coreopsis
All but the very tallest varieties in exposed spots will be fine without any support at all. Should you need to, gently secure the stem of the plant to the support with some loosely tied twine. This will prevent any tall stems falling over in the wind or bending under the weight of rain.
Feeding coreopsis
Coreopsis grow quickly and you can boost their vigour and flowering potential if you choose to feed them with some organic potassium or all-purpose fertiliser during the summer. Those in pots and planters that can’t stretch their roots further to take extra nutrients from the ground, particularly benefit from this.
Overwintering coreopsis
The first autumn frost will kill off the coreopsis’ remaining flowers and foliage. You can then cut the dead stems down to ground level, if you choose, but leaving that task until spring, provides a habitat for beneficial insects to shelter in over the winter. Doing this will help ensure that your garden has a healthy and sustainable eco-system. A covering of mulch will provide some additional protection and nourishment for the soil. Learn more here Marvellous Mulching
If you live in a particularly cold location, pots can easily be moved to a shed, garage or similar space for winter where there is no danger of them freezing.
I hope that you’ve found this advice helpful, and enjoy sensational flowers not just this summer but for many more to come. If you'd like to share your cheerful coreopsis with friends and family, you can collect the seeds from some of the flower heads when they have died off in the autumn, and sow them in little pots somewhere protected from the worst of the weather over the winter. It's likely that the flowers produced by your new plants will not be exactly the same as the plant you collected the seed from, due to the pollination process, but you’re sure to get something beautiful. For more ideas on how to boost the blooms in your growing space for virtually no cost, you’ll find some more great ideas here Saving Seeds - Saving Resources
Next spring, you may even be able to divide your plants to produce more that you can gift to friends and family or use to increase the flowers in your own garden, please do let me know how you get on.
Comments