Pink tickseed
Coreopsis rosea · Asteraceae
Small, rosy-pink daisies with yellow centres float over a mat of thread-fine leaves from midsummer to autumn.
- Size
- 16 in tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late June to early September
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around pink tickseed
The planner designed this bed around pink tickseed 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 pink tickseed stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Pink tickseed × 1, pink
- 2 Winter heath × 7, white
- 3 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 22, yellow
- 4 Little bluestem 'The Blues' × 8, tan
- 5 Swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet' × 3, white
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Schubert's allium × 3, pink
- 8 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 2, 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
- In the middle. At 16 in it is the step between silver sage (12 in) in front and swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet' (3½ ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- One plant. Three or more is usual for a plant of this kind, and reads better.
- Fine leaf against bold. Silver sage is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- In flower for 11 weeks. From late June to early September.
- Fills a gap. For one of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' repeats along the bed to tie it together. For contrast, the bold leaves of silver sage sit beside the fine leaves of pink tickseed.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 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 pink tickseed 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 only pink coreopsis that is hardy, and the only one that wants moist soil: it fails in the dry places its yellow cousins love. It creeps into a wide patch.
- Fine texture at the front of a moist border
- Pond margins
- Long summer colour
What to plant with pink tickseed
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Blue flag iris: flowers first, late May to late June, so the spot is never empty; tall enough (2½ ft) to stand behind it.
- Cardinal flower: in flower together for seven weeks, from late July; spires rising out of its mound; tall enough (3½ ft) to stand behind it.
- Tufted hair grass: in flower together for nine weeks, from late June; tall enough (3 ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about pink tickseed
Does pink tickseed need sun or shade?
Pink tickseed grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does pink tickseed grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does pink tickseed 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 4 | Early July to early September |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late June to early September |
| Zone 6 | Late June to early September |
| Zone 7 | Late June to early September |
| Zone 8 | Late 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 pink tickseed be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 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 pink tickseed 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 a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is pink tickseed 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.
Will pink tickseed spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads by creeping roots in moist soil. Divide it every two or three years.
What flowers after pink tickseed?
Pink tickseed 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.
- Meadow saffron: from mid September to mid October, 6 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does pink tickseed look like in winter?
Pink tickseed 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'
- Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising' Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising'
- Lanceleaf coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata
- Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' Coreopsis auriculata 'Nana'
- 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, 24 in (60 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; pink
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Mounding, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asteraceae
Checked against 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.