Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam'
Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam' · Asteraceae Popular
A haze of small, pale yellow daisies floats over thread-fine foliage for months. Its soft colour and airy texture blend easily with almost any neighbour.
- Size
- 18 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late June to early September
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Edging
A bed built around threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam'
The planner designed this bed around threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' 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 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' × 3, yellow
- 2 Winter heath × 7, pink
- 3 October daphne × 3, pink
- 4 Little bluestem 'The Blues' × 8, tan
- 5 Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' × 3, blue
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
- 8 Star of Persia × 3, purple
Why this plant
- The only daisies. The others are bells, dense clusters, spires and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only yellow. The one hot colour: every other flower here is cool or neutral.
Why here
- In the middle. At 18 in it is the step between silver sage (12 in) in front and little bluestem 'The Blues' (3 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.
- Fine leaf against bold. Silver sage is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- In flower for 12 weeks. From late June to early September.
- Fills a gap. For three of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 7 groups (86%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Something is in flower for 36 weeks between late January and late October, with a pause of 4 weeks from late April. The scheme leans cool (pink, blue and purple) and uses yellow for warmth, with tan to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 3 Good, 1 Satisfactory. 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 threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' 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: edging. A low, neat plant used in short runs of three or five along the front to finish the edge (or, in a formal bed, in one even row).
Pale lemon is the easiest yellow to place: it goes with blues, purples and even pinks, where a strong gold would clash. The thread-fine foliage is a useful contrast to broad leaves.
- Soft yellow at the front of a sunny bed
- A long-flowering filler
- Blending stronger colours
What to plant with threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam'
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 four weeks; spires rising out of its mound.
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': in flower together for 12 weeks, from late June; spires rising out of its mound; happy in the same dry soil.
- English lavender 'Hidcote': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for six weeks; spires rising out of its mound; happy in the same dry soil.
Choosing between it and a look-alike? Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' vs Threadleaf coreopsis 'Zagreb'.
Questions about threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam'
Does threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' need sun or shade?
Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to early September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Late June to early September |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Late June to early September |
| Zone 5 | Late June to early September |
| Zone 6 | Late June to early September |
| Zone 7 | Mid June to early September |
| Zone 8 | Mid June to early September |
| Zone 9 | Early June to early 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 threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
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 threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as runs of three or five along the front (or one even row, in a formal bed).
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension and the ASPCA.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam'?
Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' is over by early 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.
- Bottle gentian: from late August to early October, 20 in tall.
What does threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' look like in winter?
Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' dies down, but leave the stems standing: the seed heads stand through the winter, and songbirds eat the seed. Cut them down in early spring, before the new shoots come.
Is threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' good for bees and butterflies?
Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' is visited by pollinators, bees, butterflies and songbirds.
It is native to the United States (this is a named variety of the native plant).
More Coreopsis
- Coreopsis 'Full Moon' Coreopsis 'Full Moon'
- Coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' Coreopsis 'Jethro Tull'
- 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 'Zagreb' Coreopsis verticillata 'Zagreb'
- Tickseed 'Early Sunrise' Coreopsis grandiflora 'Early Sunrise'
- Tickseed 'Sunray' Coreopsis grandiflora 'Sunray'
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 18 in (45 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late June to early September; daisies; yellow
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Mounding, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Comes from
- Eastern Canada and the United States south to Georgia
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, drought, heat, humidity, salt, poor soil
Checked against NC State Extension, ASPCA poison lists and VASCAN (plants of Canada). 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.