Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  Large Flowered Tickseed, Coreopsis

Description:

Compact plant covered with daisy-like yellow flowers that have a deep scarlet ring around a central gold disk; tolerant of pests and drier soils; thriving in sandy and rocky soils; needs good drainage

Ornamental Features

Lightning Bug Tickseed is smothered in stunning yellow daisy flowers with gold eyes and a scarlet ring at the ends of the stems from early summer to mid fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its narrow leaves remain emerald green in colour throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Lightning Bug Tickseed is an open herbaceous perennial with a mounded form. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Lightning Bug Tickseed is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Lightning Bug Tickseed will grow to be about 10 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 15 inches. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in poor soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Lightning Bug Tickseed is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.

This plant is not reliably hardy in our region, and certain restrictions may apply; contact the store for more information.