Early Sunrise Tickseed

Size

Enjoy late summer color for years in zones 4 through 8 when you add Early Sunrise Tickseed (Coreopsis grandiflora) to your garden bed or perennial container. In many zones, coreopsis begins blooming even sooner, attracting butterflies and bees in early summer with its 2-inch, double yellow blooms. The easy-care perennial is a dependable native flower and is especially happy in hot, dry climates and in higher altitudes (suitable for above 7,000 feet). It doesnt get much easier than that! Rising to about 1.5 to 2 feet high and about a foot wide, the flowering coreopsis. Use it as the thriller plant in a sun-exposed container or plant several throughout a native or rock garden to use it to its best advantage as yellow focal points. But you really can grow it in any spot where you want plenty of sunny flowers and happy pollinators. Although they attract insects, they are not attractive to deer or rabbits. Early Sunrise Tickseed Care Find a sunny spot with average to poor soil. This coreopsis performs best in sandy, rocky, or sandy loam soils, and will do poorly in clay because the clay soil does not drain well. If planting in a container, be sure to use a potting mix and container that support water drainage. The flowers need no fertilizer, but add some compost each spring around the base of the plant to improve soil fertility. Deadhead (remove) flowers as they fade until late summer. Leave some spent flowers on the plant for the birds who enjoy the seeds and to help spread the plant by seed in warmer zones. When deadheading, cut down at the base of the stem for best appearance. Water regularly the first year, then cut back in the second year, since this is a waterwise plant. Don't let your tickseed sit in soggy soil. Early Sunrise Tickseed Spacing Give your coreopsis room to grow when tucking it near rocks, fences, or as a group planting. The mature plant will reach nearly 2 feet wide, so place plants about 2 feet apart.