I'm in eastern NC and my favorite is 'Creme Brulee'. I'm trying a new one this year called 'Limerock Dream'...it's sunset colors and very nice. I can't vouch for hardiness yet. 'Heaven's Gate' didn't over winter for me.

There's a perennial Coreopsis called Coreopsis integrifolia (Chipola River Tickseed) and it's a wonderful fall plant. It has small yellow daisy type blooms and it's great.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chipola River Tickseed

yuck, that is bad news.. about Heaven's Gate. I JUST bought it about a week ago...:( It sure is purty...I wish it would winter over. I bought two darn it...

read what Tony Avent has to say about the new coreopsis hybrids, about 3/4 of the way down on this newsletter update page:

Here is a link that might be useful: Tony Avent talking plants

I have 'Moonbeam', 'Creme Brulee', Limerock Ruby, and 'Heaven's Gate'. The 'moonbeam' overwintered. The rest are newly planted this spring and I had heard the mixed reviews before planting. However, since I'm experimenting with deer-resistant plants, I gave these a try. So, I can't report on overwintering on the rest. They are very pretty and have been blooming on and on this summer!

I've planted 4 or 5 kinds and all of the pinkish(can't remember the name)ones never came back in the spring. My 'creme brulee' was nice in early summer but has since turned completely brown except for one measly stem and that stem has rebloomed, whoopie. I've cut all the dead ones down and hopefully it will come back next spring. I have 2 orangier ones I think 'sunray' and one turned brown and crispy but the other is green and healthy buy never rebloomed. By far I've had the best results with 'moonbeam'. When I first planted them I was dissappointed with the display of flowers but moved them about 3-4 years ago and they are doing very nicely now. All rebloom well after giving them 'haircuts'.

Thanks for posting that Inthegarden. I wish I had read it before purchasing darn it. It was a impluse buy from Lowes...I wonder if they will refund...........

Maybe I will try the cutting back and see what happens....

I have a bunch of one that I really don't know what it is - it was already here when I moved in. It grows in patches and is evergreen - the leaves make dense mats about 4-5 inches high. Then in spring and early summer there are flower stems (thin and wiry so the flowers look like they are floating over the plants) about 8-10 inches higher than the foliage with the brightest yellow gold flowers. Dh always says, "Those look so happy!" And he is right. I don't know what kind they are but they are delightful! All year long!

I've tried quite a few coreopsis. 'Moonbeam' and 'Creme Brulee' are the only ones that have returned consistently over the past 4 (5?)years.

PattiOh

I had Creme Brule here in zone 5/6 and it definitely didn't overwinter that well. Of course, we had practically no snow cover the last two winters. I'm trying a few this year from seed, so I won't be able to help you on any others till next year!

Tracy

These are spring planted, so I can't vouch for that yet, but I have Limerock and also Sweet Dreams. I love both of them but the Sweet Dreams is really a show stopper. It also seems to be a bit more robust than the Limerock.

Lindakimy, what you are describing sounds just like four nerve daisies. They even bloom here in the winter (sporadically) for me. I lost a lot of them that were out away from the house (growing wild) due to all of the rain that we had. The ones I had moved to my raised beds all survived. These are really, really tough plants and like you said.....they're happy.......that includes times when not much else IS happy :). The link below will tell you more about them.

Kristi

'Moonbeam' is extremely reliable. Takes a bit to get going in the spring, but once it starts flowering in early July, it doesn't stop. Great plant.
'Zagreb' is another I use. Taller than moonbeam, and the flower is a deeper yellow, almost a light orange.
I also have 'Sweet Dreams' but its a bit sporadic. It IS hardy, though, as it continues to come back every year. pretty flowers.

The only coreopsis I've been disappointed with is that red one from some years ago.
My fave is Zagreb since it's taller and a stronger yellow than Moonbeam.
Baby Sun is good when you need to match a yellow bloomer, like heliopsis or BES in a shorter version. If you're willing to do the deadheading, this one, like most coreopsis, is a non-stop bloomer. Good as cut flower, too.

Well, I tried Limerock Ruby a few years ago - now I know why it didn't overwinter for me! It was gorgeous - I was pretty peeved when it didn't come back!

Alas, I don't know the variety that I had at the old house (came in a mix), but it overwintered quite reliably for me. (But, I did save some seeds last year, that may end up in the seed swap, lol!) It may have been Zagreb, or similar.

lindakimy,
I'm thinking yours might be one of the Coreopsis grandifloras? 'Early Sunrise'? 'Sunburst Double New Gold'? Their foliage is strappy and evergreen and the flowers are held above the foliage. They're beautiful!

Pam

Pam, I finally located a photograph...it's from May 12, 2007. I can't believe how tiny all the plants in that bed were!

The flowers are more ragged than the four nerve daisies, I think. But those are CUTE!! This is also VERY drought tolerant and undemanding.

Hey there,

I live in the S.F. Bay Area and I wild collected some coreopsis seed in Napa and now that I've seen it bloom I think it must be coreopsis tinctoria. It was the most stunning mass of blooms I've seen in ages! They grew to about 4' high on thin stems with not much in the way of leaves, but the color! Wow! Vivid golden yellow with a heart of burgundy and they would sway in the breeze. I had people walking by stop and stare and ask me what they were. They're going to seed now, so I'll start collecting. The petals fall off by themselves so there's no need to deadhead and they're still handsome without the blooms, as well as drought tolerant once established. Our Sunset Western Garden Book says they have a wide zone span, 1-24, though they are annuals.

I've tried several of the above mentioned hybrids over the past 10 years. Moonbeam I had for about 3 years before it died out. Sweet Dreams tried twice and never overwintered. However, one of my favorites has spread and I give away a bit each year. Not totally sure of the name, something like Rosa. Short, about 6 inches with small pink flowers that continue from July thru frost.
Faye, in MD

Hmmmm...lindakimy...I'm not sure. Here's a photo of C. lanceolata and it seems like its form is not as much of a clump and the leaves seem narrower and longer? The bloom looks a little different, also. I wish I was better at plant identifiation.

What does everyone think?

{{gwi:743472}}

That does look different....mine makes a very neat mat that is only about 4 inches high and has very pretty, almost glossy leaves that stay green all winter. Whatever it is, I love it!

I got Early Sunrise seeds in the mail just this week from not one but TWO seed orders (I must have really wanted it - lol). I am hoping it will be the low growing one you have in that picture Lindakimy. I have the tall lanceolata and do like it but wanted something more compact and neat looking. I have tried moonbeam and can never get it to last more than a season or two. I really love it but it doesn't like me or my growing conditions.....

Lynne

Could Lindakimy's plant be C. Sunshine Superman?
What a fun name for a plant!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sunshine Superman

Smokey, there are dwarf annual coreopsis that reseed every year too - mahogany midget about 18 inches tall. They're a rusty red and look great with blue hill salvia and silvery foliaged plants. I agree with greenpurplegirl on the taller yellow-mahogany version of this plant - in my garden it looked nice with the black and blue and bog sages.

Early sunrise did great the first year I grew them but didn't overwinter - too wet I think where they were. Am trying sunrise superman this summer. Coreopsis perennials fade out on me unless I plant on a slope - that shouldn't be too hard to find in your location! It's probably just the clay here in Greensboro.

Chris, that is a cute name! I checked the link and then actually went out to examine the leaves on my coreopsis more closely. It DOES have hair!!! I would not have thought so. You do have to turn the leaves just right in the light to see the little hairs but they are there. Otherwise the leaves feel like leather - more substantial than most leaves - tough, actually - but fairly smooth. Except for the hair!

pfmastin, I have the same coreopsis plant. I planted two this year and it has grown big and has bloomed all summer despite the 90+ heat and drought. I think I'm going to love this plant.
Dee

pfmastin - I think mine is also the C. lanceolata - that looks just like it.

I think I've identified my coreopsis - it seems to best match a variety called "Nana". It blooms in spring, not later in summer as the Superman variety is supposed to do. And the descriptions of its growth pattern (low, dense mats of evergreen leaves) are just like mine.

I do have a clump of the Moonbeam coreopsis way on the other side of my garden but I'm thinking I might like to add some of the later blooming ones a bit nearer to these. They are such a bright spot in the flowerbed!

I found this thread looking for information on whether or not seed is savable from Heaven's Gate...

Forget overwintering, I couldn't even get Heaven's Gate to oversummer! Another impulse buy from (I think) Lowe's. It was stunning when I put it in the ground immediately - mine is clay as well... is that a problem? I kept it well watered, and it almost immediately began turning brown and apparently dying... the other plants in the same spot have done well. Right now it is trying hard to come back - there is one bloom and one bud, with a few green stems. Could the problem have been the intense heat, even though it was being watered? Can you overwater these in times of drought? And my original question - can seed be saved? I know Moonbeam was supposed to be sterile (it didn't overwinter for me either), and HG doesn't have anything in the dried heads that I'd recognize as seed but I've missed things before.

Thanks in advance for any guidance.
Terri

Sorry, will ask the seed-saving question on another forum. Please accept my vote for Heaven's Gate as beautiful but frail in my zone, and Moonbeam same thing. Could be they were grown in the "wrong" zone and couldn't hack it here. Perhaps if started in your zone they would be awesome!
Terri :-)

Terri: you had the same "luck" as I did. I think that it has something to do with the timing of planting possibly, but I have given up on those 2. We are both in the same zone, though I list 5 as I live diectly into the northwest winds and I have lost alot of plants that are border line zone. I don't buy any Lowes periennals that are sold after May (unless they mark them down to $1) as they tend to be so rootbound, or blooming at the wrong time, and just don't look right. Periennals they are supposed to replace free. Did you save your receipt?

lol, I save receipts in the black hole called my purse, and then every so often I go into purge mode and they get recycled. I haven't found it floating around lately so I think I'm out my $4, unless it resurfaces somehow. I do have the ID tag to it, though, just in case. ;-)

Still, I won't mind the price if I can get seeds from it, but again I'm not holding my breath.

I really should have known better based on the my Moonbeam experience. Oh well, live and learn. (I'm also learning not to buy annuals this time of year - no matter how cheap!)

I love moonbeam for its pale yellow blossoms and when it starts blooming the multiple flowers just keep coming until frost. It sheds dead flowers cleanly, so I don't have to dead head constantly. This year I bought (from lowes) 4 gallon-sized healthy plants for a droughty area under trees. 2 get hot afternoon sun, 2 dry shade, with a lot of watering. The good is that they are drought tolerant and start blooming from spring to frost. The bad is that water or not they look pretty dry and worn out by now and the dead heads are unsightly throughout the season. We'll see if they come back. Others have, but not impressively so. Moonbeam just gets better (and floppier) each year.

Moonbeam is my favorite too, with its delicate appearance and a soft color that works as well with cool colors as with warm. Mine died out after three years, too. I suspect it may be a short lived perennial; either that or it wants something I'm not giving it. It is available from Bluestone.

Rosefolly

Well, I guess I'll find out if the "Heaven's Gate" will overwinter for me. I just bought 3 of them at Lowes. I have other varieties like "Moonbeam" and they have performed quite well. I'll give these a shot, hope it will work out.