Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising'
Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising' ·
Velvety wine-red flowers with a golden button at the centre, in great numbers over fine foliage, from early summer until frost.
- Size
- 18 in tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late June to mid September
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around coreopsis 'Mercury Rising'
The planner designed this bed around coreopsis 'Mercury Rising' 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 'Mercury Rising' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising' × 3, red
- 2 Winter heath × 8, pink
- 3 Sea thrift × 8, white
- 4 False sunflower 'Summer Sun' × 3, yellow
- 5 Showy goldenrod × 3, yellow
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Star of Persia × 4, purple
- 8 Daffodil × 7, yellow
Why this plant
- The only red.
Why here
- At the back. At 18 in it is seen over silver sage (12 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to showy goldenrod (4 ft) and false sunflower 'Summer Sun' (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 14 weeks. From late June to mid September.
- Part of the bed's peak. With false sunflower 'Summer Sun' and showy goldenrod in late August: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowering year starts with winter heath in late January and ends with showy goldenrod in mid October. The flowering is at its height from late August, with 3 kinds out together.
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 'Mercury Rising' goes in a border
At 18 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 first red coreopsis to prove truly hardy. In cool weather the petals are dusted with cream. It forms a wide, low mound, good for knitting together the front of a border.
- Red at the front of a sunny border
- Containers
- Long summer colour
What to plant with coreopsis 'Mercury Rising'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Yarrow 'Moonshine': in flower together for eight weeks, from late June.
- Blue oat grass: in flower together for three weeks, from late June; tall enough (2½ ft) to stand behind it.
- Shasta daisy 'Snowcap': in flower together for nine weeks, from late June.
Questions about coreopsis 'Mercury Rising'
Does coreopsis 'Mercury Rising' need sun or shade?
Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising' 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 'Mercury Rising' 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 'Mercury Rising' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to mid September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Late June to mid September |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Late June to mid September |
| Zone 7 | Mid June to mid September |
| Zone 8 | Mid June to mid September |
| Zone 9 | Early June to mid September |
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 'Mercury Rising' be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 2½ ft (75 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 18 in (45 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many coreopsis 'Mercury Rising' plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 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 'Mercury Rising' 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 'Mercury Rising'?
Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Pink tickseed: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 6 in narrower, pink, not red.
- Blanket flower 'Mesa Yellow': the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 8 in narrower, yellow, not red.
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 'Mercury Rising'?
Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising' is over by mid September. 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.
- October daphne: from mid September to late October, 8 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Meadow saffron: from mid September to mid October, 6 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does coreopsis 'Mercury Rising' look like in winter?
Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising' 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 'Jethro Tull' Coreopsis 'Jethro Tull'
- 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
- 18 in (45 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late June to mid September; daisies; red
- Leaves
- Fine 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.