Tickseed 'Early Sunrise'
Coreopsis grandiflora 'Early Sunrise' · Asteraceae
Semi-double, golden-yellow flowers from early summer to autumn on a short-lived plant that flowers in its first year from seed.
- Size
- 18 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Early June to late August
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around tickseed 'Early Sunrise'
The planner designed this bed around tickseed 'Early Sunrise' 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 tickseed 'Early Sunrise' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Tickseed 'Early Sunrise' × 3, yellow
- 2 Winter heath × 3, pink
- 3 Candytuft × 4, white
- 4 Little bluestem 'The Blues' × 8, tan
- 5 False sunflower 'Summer Nights' × 3, yellow
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
- 8 Triteleia 'Queen Fabiola' × 7, 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 18 in it is the step between candytuft (10 in) in front and little bluestem 'The Blues' (3 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- A step in the back row. Next to little bluestem 'The Blues' (3 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 12 weeks. From early June to late August.
- Part of the bed's peak. With false sunflower 'Summer Nights' and triteleia 'Queen Fabiola' in late June: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as a cottage garden: 22 of the 22 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. The flowers run from late January to early October: 37 weeks in all. Winter heath, fine in leaf, stands next to bold-leaved silver sage, and each shows the other off.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 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 tickseed 'Early Sunrise' 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.
It flowers itself to death in two or three years, so let a few seedlings replace it. Deadheading keeps it going all summer.
- Quick colour for new beds
- Cut flowers
- Hot, dry borders
What to plant with tickseed 'Early Sunrise'
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 six weeks; spires rising out of its mound.
- Shasta daisy 'Becky': in flower together for eight weeks, from early July; tall enough (3½ ft) to stand behind it.
- Blanket flower: in flower together for 11 weeks, from mid June; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about tickseed 'Early Sunrise'
Does tickseed 'Early Sunrise' need sun or shade?
Tickseed 'Early Sunrise' 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.
What zones does tickseed 'Early Sunrise' 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 tickseed 'Early Sunrise' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early June to late August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Mid June to late August |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Early June to late August |
| Zone 6 | Early June to late August |
| Zone 7 | Late May to mid August |
| Zone 8 | Late May 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 tickseed 'Early Sunrise' 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 18 in (45 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many tickseed 'Early Sunrise' 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 tickseed 'Early Sunrise' 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 tickseed 'Early Sunrise'?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
Will tickseed 'Early Sunrise' spread?
It seeds itself about; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Short-lived, but keeps going by self-seeding. Thin or move seedlings where they are not wanted.
What flowers after tickseed 'Early Sunrise'?
Tickseed 'Early Sunrise' 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 tickseed 'Early Sunrise' look like in winter?
Tickseed 'Early Sunrise' 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.
Is tickseed 'Early Sunrise' good for bees and butterflies?
Tickseed 'Early Sunrise' is visited by pollinators, bees and butterflies.
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 'Moonbeam' Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam'
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Zagreb' Coreopsis verticillata 'Zagreb'
- Tickseed 'Sunray' Coreopsis grandiflora 'Sunray'
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
Zone guides: 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
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Early June to late August; daisies; yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Mounding, self-seeding
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Comes from
- Canada, U.S.A., NC
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies
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.