Tickseed

Tickseed  (Coreopsis)

Tickseed (Coreopsis) is a genus of beautiful flowering plants for a not too fertile, well-draining soil in full sun. Tickseed is a must in a colourful flower border but also good to use in planters combined with annuals. There are lots of new varieties being introduced right now of which hardiness and longevity are not known yet. Tickseed from the groups 'lanceolata' and 'grandiflora' are short lived. You can prolong their life by cutting back the plants in late summer down to 5-10 cm above soil level. A shame if they still have flowers, but now they will put their energy into producing new shoots for spring. The most reliable Tickseed are those from the group 'verticillata'. Do not let the above put you off using Tickseed in the garden. They are not expensive and the shorter living varieties will reward you with an abundance of flowers. Tickseed looks good planted next to blue Giant Hyssop (Agastache) and not too tall Fountain Grass (Pennisetum).