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Coreopsis, Threadleaf

Herbaceous Perennial Flower, Wildflower

Also known as Threadleaf tickseed
Coreopsis verticillata
Asteraceae Family

This very popular garden plant has fine, wispy foliage and showy, golden yellow blooms. Provide a sunny, well-drained site and you'll be rewarded with hardy, long-lived, long-blooming plants that are also drought-tolerant.

	Site and Plant Characteristics
	Growing Information
	Varieties

Site Characteristics

Sunlight:

full sun
part shade

Prefers full sun.

Soil conditions:

tolerates droughty soil
requires well-drained soil
requires high fertility

Hardiness zones:

3 to 9

Plant Traits

Lifecycle: perennial

Ease-of-care: easy

Height: 1.5 to 2.5 feet

Spread: 1 to 1.5 feet

Slowly spreading clump.

Bloom time:

early summer
mid-summer
late summer
early fall

Flower color:

orange
yellow

Foliage color:

medium green
dark green

Foliage texture: fine

Shape:

cushion, mound or clump
upright

Slowly spreading clump of upright stems.

Shape in flower: flower stalks with flowers with petal radiating outward

Blooms borne at the top of the erect stems.

Special Considerations

Special characteristics:

deer resistant
non-aggressive - May self-seed. Spreads more aggressively than other coreopsis, but isn't difficult to contain.
non-invasive
native to North America - Southeastern U.S.

Attracts:

beneficial insects
butterflies

Growing Information

How to plant:

Propagate by seed, cuttings, division or separation - Divide every 2 to 3 years in early spring to promote cold hardiness and maintain plant vigor. Plants are longer-lived than other coreopsis.
Sow seeds indoors in late winter, or outdoors in seedbed in midspring. Move to garden when frost danger has passed.
Make cuttings in spring.

Maintenance and care:

Deadhead older plants to prolong bloom. (First-year plants may flower all season without deadheading.) May self-seed, but usually not aggressively. Deadhead if you want to prevent reseeding.
Cut back in late summer to encourage fall bloom. Spent flowers from fall bloom can be left on plants for winter interest. Then cut plants back in early spring.
Divide plants every 2 to 3 years in the spring or fall. Plants are longer-lived and spread more aggressively than other coreopsis.
More growing information: How to Grow Perennials

Pests:

Slugs and snails
Aphids
Flea beetles
Striped and/or spotted cucumber beetles
Potato aphid

Diseases:

Powdery mildew
Botrytis blight
Bacterial and fungal leaf spots
Root and/or crown rots
Downy mildew
Aster yellows

Varieties

'Moonbeam' is a deservedly popular cultivar that grows 1.5 feet tall plants with striking pale lemon yellow blooms with darker centers. Drought tolerant. Needs heavy winter protection.
'Grandiflora' ('Golden Shower') grows 2 feet tall with dark golden yellow blooms.

'Zagreb' grows 1 to 1.5 feet tall with golden orange blooms. Drought tolerant.