Coreopsis verticillata Zagreb, along with Coreopsis verticillata Moonbeam, was one of the first Coreopsis to find its way into my garden.  Whereas Moonbeam Coreopsis (and both Zagreb and Moonbeam are also known properly as Threadleaf Coreopsis or Tickseed) has flowers of buttery cool pale yellow, Zagreb Coreopsis is a warmer golden color with larger flowers.  Other than the color of the flowers, both of these Coreopsis are remarkably similar…including a propensity for some frustrating behavior. Read on…

Many gardeners of lowish intellect just take Coreopsis (and the rest of their plants) out to a likely spot and hammer it into ground that a jack hammer couldn’t break…where the Coreopsis then grows happily on and on. Meanwhile, down the street Mr. and Mrs. Greenthumb watch in horror as their Coreopsis, in its lovingly prepared soil, withers away until finally being guiltily spirited away to the boneyard.  I could offer all kinds of ill-concieved sagelike wisdom, but truly, Coreopsis often withers over time no matter what you do.  I suspect that overly wet, rich soil is the culprit.

If one were to consider the matter further, ponder the native habitat of Coreopsis.  Coreopsis verticillata is native to the southeastern United States, and frequents upland grasslands…open places that tend to have poorish soil and dry conditions.  We gardeners may easily know that certain plants need special conditions.  For example, a pitcher plant community savors boggy places…roses like well-drained soil…but Coreopsis is so seemingly ordinary that many gardeners do not consider that all of us, plants, people, or dogs, are unique in our needs.

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