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Common Coreopsis

Coreopsis grandiflora (kor-ee-OP-sis gran-dih-FLOR-uh)

Family: Asteraceae Native Herbaceous (3-15 ft)

Large-Flower Tickseed is a native perennial wildflower in the aster family. It has very showy bright yellow flowers and blooms from late spring to late summer. Deadhead the spent flowers to prolong the blooming season. It is clump-forming and grows 1-3 feet tall and wide. It prefers a sunny location in well-drained soil in the drier portion of the garden. Its preference is for sandy or rocky soils but can adapt to clay soils if it's well-drained. Large-Flower Tickseed may not always be reliably perennial but will reseed itself in the garden. Clumps can also be divided in early spring. Use in the border or rock gardens and in swaths to provide a long season of color. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 54 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft) Optimal soil pH Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Herbaceous Perennial; Native Plant; Wildflower
Life cycle
Perennial
USDA zones
4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
Light
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Dry
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Cascading; Clumping; Erect
Texture
Fine
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Pinnatifid
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
The upper leaves are opposite and pinnatifid and deeply lobed, but lower leaves at the base of the plant are lobeless and linear. Lower leaves are up to 3 inches long and 2 inches wide. The upper leaves at 1/2 inch wide.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow
Flower form
Head
Flower shape
Radial
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
The 2.5-inch yellow flower consists of 6-12 yellow ray florets that surround numerous golden yellow disk florets. Each ray has 4-5 notches along the outer edge of the petal. It blooms late spring to late summer.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit detail
The achenes are flat and oblong.
Stem color
Green
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Canada, U.S.A., NC
Distribution
USA: AL , AR , CT , FL , GA , IA , IL , IN , KS , KY , LA , MD , ME , MI , MO , MS , NC , NJ , NM , NY , OH , OK , PA , RI , SC , TN , TX , VA , VT , WI , WV Canada: ON, QC
Attracts
Bees; Butterflies; Pollinators
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Summer
Fruit type
Achene
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Naturalized Area
Landscape theme
Native Garden; Pollinator Garden; Rock Garden
Design feature
Border; Mass Planting; Small groups
Garden tags
#showy flowers #self-seeding #NC native #native wildflower #fantz #long bloom time #pollinator plant #border planting #drought tolerant #dry soils tolerant #HS302 #non-toxic for cats #non-toxic for horses #non-toxic for dogs #full sun tolerant #rock garden #border front #cpp #NC Native Pollinator Plant #HS303
Problems & Resistance
Disease problems
Southern Blight of Herbaceous Ornamentals
Propagation
Division; Seed

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.