← Bedfellow

Tall Coreopsis

Coreopsis tripteris

Also known as: Tall Tickseed

Tall coreopsis is the giant of the genus, reaching eight feet on stems stiff enough that it almost never needs staking, and it flowers at the top of that height in late summer when most prairie yellows are finished. Its foliage is divided into three narrow leaflets — the name means three-winged — and crushing it releases a clear anise scent. The flower heads are smaller than the garden tickseeds and held in an airy open spray, so the plant reads as a haze of yellow rather than a solid block. It creeps by rhizome into a colony and wants room; this is a back-of-the-border or meadow plant, not a bed filler. The dark seed heads hold into winter and finches take them apart. It tolerates shade better than most prairie forbs, which is why it turns up along woodland edges and fencerows.

Family

Asteraceae

Type

wildflower

Lifespan

perennial

Height

2–8 ft

Spacing

2–8 ft apart

Light

part shade

Soil moisture

moist

Soil pH

acidic, neutral

Bloom

July, August, September

Bloom colors

yellow

Wildlife value

songbirds

Landscape uses

border, naturalizing

Native states

AL, AR, DC, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV