Lanceleaf coreopsis
Coreopsis lanceolata · Asteraceae
A native prairie daisy with single, golden-yellow flowers on long stems in early summer. It seeds freely in poor, dry soil.
- Size
- 20 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late May to mid July
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around lanceleaf coreopsis
The planner designed this bed around lanceleaf coreopsis when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden 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 lanceleaf coreopsis stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Lanceleaf coreopsis × 3, yellow
- 2 Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' × 16, pink
- 3 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 9, pink
- 4 Wild quinine × 3, white
- 5 False sunflower × 4, yellow
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
- 8 Star of Persia × 5, purple
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
- At the back. At 20 in it is seen over Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' (4 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to false sunflower (4 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 7 weeks. From late May to mid July.
- Part of the bed's peak. With Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies', ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' and star of Persia in late May: 4 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as a cottage garden: 36 of the 36 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. The bed is tied together by its repeats: three kinds come round again along it, among them Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' and sedum 'Lidakense'. The flowering is at its height from late May, with 4 kinds out together.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 3 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 lanceleaf coreopsis goes in a border
At 20 in it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
At home in a meadow with grasses, where its seeding is an advantage. In rich border soil it grows lush, flops and seeds too much.
- Meadows and roadside-style planting
- Poor, dry, sandy soil
- Pollinator gardens
What to plant with lanceleaf coreopsis
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Little bluestem: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (3 ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same dry soil.
- Butterfly weed: in flower together for three weeks, from late June; happy in the same dry soil.
- Purple coneflower: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for three weeks; tall enough (3 ft) to stand behind it.
Questions about lanceleaf coreopsis
Does lanceleaf coreopsis need sun or shade?
Lanceleaf coreopsis grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does lanceleaf coreopsis grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does lanceleaf coreopsis flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to mid July. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Early June to mid July |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late May to mid July |
| Zone 6 | Late May to mid July |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to early July |
| Zone 8 | Early May to early July |
| Zone 9 | Early May to late June |
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 lanceleaf coreopsis 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 20 in (50 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many lanceleaf coreopsis 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 lanceleaf coreopsis 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 lanceleaf coreopsis?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
Will lanceleaf coreopsis spread?
It seeds itself about; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Self-seeds freely. Remove the spent flowers to limit seedlings.
What flowers after lanceleaf coreopsis?
Lanceleaf coreopsis is over by mid July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall.
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
- Ornamental onion 'Millenium': from mid July to late August, 18 in tall.
What does lanceleaf coreopsis look like in winter?
Lanceleaf coreopsis 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 lanceleaf coreopsis good for bees and butterflies?
Lanceleaf coreopsis is visited by pollinators, bees, butterflies, beneficial insects and songbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
More Coreopsis
- Coreopsis 'Full Moon' Coreopsis 'Full Moon'
- Coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' Coreopsis 'Jethro Tull'
- Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising' Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising'
- 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
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 20 in (50 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late May to mid July; daisies; yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Mounding, self-seeding
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Comes from
- Southeastern Canada to south Central U.S.A
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies, beneficial insects, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, heat, humidity, 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.