I know they are perennials but should they be dead headed? I know I let my petunia's go to seed and they always come back. I have never grown any Coreopsis let alone the new Starlight's, got a traditional one too. Will they naturalize?

I believe they are sterile so they do not need to be deadheaded. Though a good shearing partway through the season keeps them neater looking.

Some of these newer Coreopsis don't come back well for me here. I did have good luck with one called 'Route 66.' I have had some double-flowered Coreopsis that reseeded some, but I like that about them.

Crystalview, with Clint. But I don't try to deadhead individual blooms, except at the beginning of the season. Later, I use a grass shears and cut the stems down to the foliage. It will look ratty for a little while, but should rebloom.

Clint, I'm glad that you mentioned that the newer ones don't seem to be long lived. I thought maybe it was just me. As I've had some problems with that bed, starting with loss a huge oak tree that provided much needed shade. Part of it fell onto the bed and stayed there for at least a month.

I'vehad Jethro Tull for 2 or 3 years, but I don't see it. I did have the double flowered ones, but put down a thick mulch for a couple of years, so it didn't get to reseed. I also had a couple of the Starlights, which I don't see. Route 66, I'm sure is still here and a thread leaf plant, I think Sienna Sunset has come back for about 4 years, so I'm sure it's a keeper. It may be a little too wet here for coreopsis, so I may need to add some grit when I plant them in the future. If anyone has any Moonbeam that they'd like to share, please t-mail me.

Route 66 is the best one I ever had.

I had Moonboom for decades, several divisions from one original plant. Some newer red ones were not so hardy for me. But any of the threadleaf ones, if sheered down after the first bloom, have rebloomed later in the season.

Karen

All of my named coreopsis disappeared after a year or two. But something had reseeded and left me with coreopsis grandiflora. I do not deadhead it because I observed goldfinch eating the seeds one year. Now I have several coreopsis grandiflora scattered here and there in my garden. I love it. It is such an easy going plant that flowers for a long time each season.

I found some more Route 66 yesterday. I had to have them.

Thanks everybody. I transplanted the 3 plants Big Bang Mercury Rising, Presto and Li'l Bang Starlight. I left them out of the sun for a day. But they are still in Shock but Presto. Very limp in my dry heat 91. They will perk up, but for now they are limp.

Prairie wild , does what it wants , easier to let self sow , more Bienniel than perennial ,
Center Stage , a red Frost does pretty well here , never gets large , a smaller one ,

Here is the wild , much different than the threadleaf types Love to watch the Golfinch as they bounce in the breeze on the bloom eating the seeds , Wondering how a bird can do that ,, a bloom high wire act ,

Are there two different leaf patterns? I think I might have two thinleaf and ?

Yes there are acually three I know of in the family ,
A threadleaf ,
the wild with a cutleaf ,
and a very small flowered type , with a heavy ragweed type leaf ,
I can get photo's tomorrow

Coreopsis 'Zagreb' has been very vigorous for me, and at times a little too vigorous. It would definitely naturalize if allowed. Deadheading doesn't seem to make that much of a difference.

After two years, Coreopsis 'Moonbeam' has disappeared from every spot in the garden. It's a mystery.

Crystalview, this article about coreopsis research at Mt. Cuba Center was specifically for the Mid-Atlantic region, but you might find some of this information helpful.

http://www.mtcubacenter.org/im...

photo's
1 ,2 , leaf and Bloom , of wild , Sunray is a cultivar near this , more of a thin cutleaf type







Threadleaf , Center Stage , (looks like a smaller Rosemary type leaf ,softer more airy appearance ,



a tickseed Coreopsis wild ,, a member of the sunflower family truthfully ,

Thanks
I will watch the two new color type. They both may need trimmed back and then let the rest of the plant catch up. They were really root bound. I think they got leggy. It is sometimes hard when you buy a plant and you don't know what you are looking at. So this helped.

Where I have the most trouble is determining wht soil /earth type , Wild type it can take two or three full seasons to get a bloom , then usually the following season they bloom full and then do not return , (previous expressed here) They like sunbaked , hard as brick earth , which makes them ,undetermined as to starting from seed ,,
Threadleaf like the Center stage , (I will show a bloom again later ) are more perennial , their a little easier to keep , rarely seed true , difficult to get runner starts from , things like that ,,
I have seen the new introductions , and think they are delightful ,
Only rambling some thoughts off ,,,
I hope you have lots of success with yours ,