Coreopsis for Hot Summer Days

A good choice for these long, hot summer days is Coreopsis.Even if the garden is dry and dusty, this perennial will deliver heavy blooms of mostly yellow flowers from now until frost.

In the last few years, Coreopsis has seen an expansion in color range. ‘Route 66’, for example, features red streaks that begin to appear in the petals right about now. Yellow flowers will continue to darken with red until the frost kicks in. ‘Sienna Sunset’, a very new cultivar, boasts an orange, almost terra cotta color.

We continue to sing the praises of ‘Jethro Tull’. Even though it’s a yellow double, the petals are rolled into a tubular shape. Get the kids interested in the garden with this ultra cool variety.

Size-wise, this perennial can get pretty full when it matures. Planted next to a typical picket fence, it will grow about halfway up, sometimes higher. Coreopsis will fill out into a dome of color that is an effective weed suppressor, but be careful—it will smother anything else you actually wanted growing under its dome as well.

We've seen this perennial thrive along fences, driveways and even in curbside plantings where it gets no water. Even in the no-rain summer months, it manages to shine with lots of flowers.