One of my favorite plants in the garden this year is my Limerock Ruby coreopsis. It has lovely red flowers with reddish-orange centers that bloom in abundence. The only thing is that as the season progressed, it went from a nice bush form into a straggily, unkempt mess. The crown is an unsightly tangle of bare, brown stems. The stems lead to nice, feathery foliage and plenty of flowers, but the crown is downright ugly. (See a photo at
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) How can I rejuvenate this plant to get it back into an attractive bush again?
Well, first thing is, did you plant it in a well draining spot? If you just plugged it into the ground, it might now return for you next year. Apparently the Limrock Ruby coreopsis isn't as perennial as they would have liked. Nor is the Bright Eyes coreopsis, the opposite large flowered one (burgandy eyes, soft pink HUGE blossoms) These were bred from the Rubra coreopsis. The Moonbeam is the hardiest one of them and the best performing threadleaf coreopsis.
What I read in a helps column was if you wanted better success, to plant the Limrock Ruby in gravely soil. For fast drainage in full sun, cutting back the plant halfway into the growing season to double up the producing ends. Since this is almost August, depending on how much more warm weather you have, you could whack the plant back to within half of what it is now, shoot some fertilizer to it, like Osmocote time release or bloom booster and hope for the best.
madgardener whose own Limerock Ruby never returned despite everything I did, and if I want it, I'll have to replant it............. zone 7, Sunset zone
I always amend my soil with plenty of compost, peat moss and manure, so I think it's pretty well draining. Should I add some pea gravel to the mix as well?
I will say that it may be in spot that's a bit shadier than it may like. It gets afternoon sun, but is in the shade of a large hackberry tree most of the morning. Could that play a role to its gangliness?
If I cut it back by half, I'd be removing the only good looking part of the plant. It's the crown of the plant that looks so crappy. I was wondering whether I could take stem cuttings, basically cut the attractive foliage away from the ugly crown and start over with the cuttings. Can you do that with Coreopsis? Or should I cut it almost to the ground early next spring, removing as much of the ugly crown as possible, and hope for new shoots from the root system?
From the grower and marketer of your perennial, Blooms of Bressingham, this is what they say. Note the bottom line, They recommend a light cut back to promote more bloom.
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Bright ruby-red daisy flowers with yellow centers on mounded, self-supporting plants. Flowers all summer and early fall. Great for the front of borders, anywhere a "hot" color accent is required; excelent for patio containers. Height: Flowers rise 12 Width: 30 - 36 Sun: Full sun. Soil Moisture: Requires well-drained soil. Hardiness: USDA Hardiness Zone 4-9. Culture: Tender perennial. A light cutback after flowering promotes re-flowering into early fall and also helps promote basal branching.
Thank you Wil, I appreciate the info. I think it'll take more than a light cutback to make this plant attractive again, though. :/ I wonder if I could root cuttings off it and start over?
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