Coreopsis 'Jethro Tull'
Coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' ·
Golden-yellow flowers whose petals are rolled into flutes, like the instrument of the band's front man, over a compact, tidy mound.
- Size
- 16 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid June to late August
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around coreopsis 'Jethro Tull'
The planner designed this bed around coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' × 3, yellow
- 2 Winter heath × 11, pink
- 3 Coral bells 'Firefly' × 8, red
- 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 5 Little bluestem × 3, blue-green leaves
- 6 Sea kale × 1, white
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
- 8 Grape hyacinth × 6, blue
Why this plant
- Nothing here is unique to it. Its leaf, flower shape and colour are all on the plan already. Its case rests on where it stands and when it performs.
Why here
- In the middle. At 16 in it is the step between winter heath (10 in) in front and brown-eyed Susan (4 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 11 weeks. From mid June to late August.
- Part of the bed's peak. With coral bells 'Firefly' and sea kale in mid June: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 7 groups (86%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The back corners are held by brown-eyed Susan and little bluestem, the tallest plants on the plan. The flowering year starts with winter heath in late January and ends with brown-eyed Susan in early October.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' goes in a border
At 16 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
The fluted petals catch the light and make this the most distinctive of the yellow tickseeds. Shear it after the first flush and it flowers again until autumn.
- Front-of-border colour all summer
- Containers
- Butterflies
What to plant with coreopsis 'Jethro Tull'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Salvia 'May Night': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for five weeks; spires rising out of its mound.
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': in flower together for 11 weeks, from mid June; spires rising out of its mound.
- Blue fescue: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
Questions about coreopsis 'Jethro Tull'
Does coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' need sun or shade?
Coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 9. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid June to late August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Mid June to late August |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Mid June to late August |
| Zone 7 | Early June to mid August |
| Zone 8 | Early June to mid August |
| Zone 9 | Late May to early August |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' be planted?
16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 16 in (40 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to the ASPCA.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like coreopsis 'Jethro Tull'?
Coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Tickseed 'Early Sunrise': the same job in a bed, the same size, the same flowering time and the same colour; wants dry soil.
- Blanket flower 'Mesa Yellow': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers mid June to early October, wants dry soil.
- Sundrops 'Fireworks': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers early June to mid July.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after coreopsis 'Jethro Tull'?
Coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' is over by late August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': from mid August to mid October, 24 in tall.
- Autumn moor grass: from mid August to early October, 16 in tall.
What does coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' look like in winter?
Coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Coreopsis
- Coreopsis 'Full Moon' Coreopsis 'Full Moon'
- Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising' Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising'
- Lanceleaf coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata
- Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' Coreopsis auriculata 'Nana'
- Pink tickseed Coreopsis rosea
- Prairie coreopsis Coreopsis palmata
- Tall coreopsis Coreopsis tripteris
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam'
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Zagreb' Coreopsis verticillata 'Zagreb'
- Tickseed 'Early Sunrise' Coreopsis grandiflora 'Early Sunrise'
- Tickseed 'Sunray' Coreopsis grandiflora 'Sunray'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 16 in (40 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Mid June to late August; daisies; yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
Checked against ASPCA poison lists. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.