Growing Coreopsis (Tickseed): A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · July 29, 2026
Coreopsis (tickseed) is a native perennial grown for cheerful yellow blooms and for how reliably it pulls in pollinators. It’s one of the better-documented native plants for supporting a wide range of bee species specifically. Buy it as straight species seed rather than a named cultivar: garden-center coreopsis is often sold under trademarked names bred more for compact habit or bloom color than for vigor, and at least one of the most common, ‘Moonbeam’, has turned out to carry a flower disease that’s spread through nursery stock over the past decade.
Starting it from seed
Coreopsis is flexible on start method: sow indoors about 7 weeks before your last frost, or direct-sow about a week after it. Scatter seed on the soil surface and leave it uncovered, since it needs light to germinate. Expect about 80 days to first bloom.
Keeping it blooming
Coreopsis is low-maintenance, and its main problem is more about longevity of bloom than disease. Deadheading spent flowers regularly keeps a planting flowering longer into the season instead of tapering off early. Overly rich soil or too much fertilizer can also push it toward floppy growth and fewer blooms; it prefers leaner soil than most garden flowers.
A pollinator border, planted near pepper
Coreopsis planted near pepper draws in pollinators and beneficial insects like lady beetles around that heavy-feeding vegetable. See the full companion guide for coreopsis. As a reliable native pollinator plant, it’s a solid border pick in the Garden Designer for a vegetable bed that wants more pollinator traffic without needing dedicated space.
Sources: Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’ Trial Results, Mt. Cuba Center.
Companion planting guide for Coreopsis (Tickseed) · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 4-10. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Mature height: 1-2 ft
Method: Either: Start indoors for an earlier harvest, or direct-sow outside for less fuss. Either works.
When to plant coreopsis (tickseed), by zone
Every zone coreopsis (tickseed) grows in. Pick your zone in the header and it will be highlighted here. Each zone links to its full page.
| Zone | Start indoors | Sow or plant out | Bloom |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4a & 4b | Mar 27–Apr 3 | May 22–May 29 | Aug 10–Aug 17 |
| 5a & 5b | Mar 22–Mar 29 | May 17–May 24 | Aug 5–Aug 12 |
| 6a & 6b | Mar 7–Mar 14 | May 2–May 9 | Jul 21–Jul 28 |
| 7a & 7b | Feb 20–Feb 27 | Apr 17–Apr 24 | Jul 6–Jul 13 |
| 8a & 8b | Feb 4–Feb 11 | Apr 1–Apr 8 | Jun 20–Jun 27 |
| 9a & 9b | Dec 28–Jan 4 | Feb 22–Mar 1 | May 13–May 20 |
| 10a & 10bSpring window | Jan–Mar | Mar–May | ~80 days after transplanting |
| Fall window | Aug–Sep | Oct–Nov | ~80 days after transplanting |
Bloom dates are about 80 days after the sow or plant-out date, not after starting seeds indoors.
See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →
How many Coreopsis (Tickseed) plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: 1 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 1-2 ft.
Good companions for coreopsis (tickseed)
- Bell Pepper: Draws in pollinators and beneficial insects like lady beetles near heavy-feeding vegetables.
Full companion guide, including what to keep away from coreopsis (tickseed) →
Varieties worth considering
- Straight-species Coreopsis grandiflora, grown from seed rather than a named cultivar: Mt. Cuba Center's multi-year trial found 'Moonbeam', probably the most widely sold coreopsis cultivar, weak and disease-prone: a fusarium flower blight now shows up on most 'Moonbeam' plants sold, on top of a standing tendency toward powdery mildew. Plain seed-grown species coreopsis skips both problems and is the form most pollinator research is based on. (source)
Why each variety is listed comes from the source shown next to it. We haven't grown these ourselves yet, so treat this as a research-backed starting point, not a personal endorsement. The buy links are separate from those sources: they go to seed suppliers that sell that exact variety, and we may earn a commission on some of them.
Where to buy coreopsis seeds
Botanical Interests · True Leaf Market · Burpee (each supplier's coreopsis seeds)
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Some links on this page also go to other retailers we may earn a commission from as an affiliate, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products with a clear consensus of positive, independent reviews, or ones we bought and use ourselves. Each item on our gear page says which.
See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing coreopsis (tickseed)" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
%3A%20A%20native%20perennial%20pollinator%20draw%20that%20supports%20dozens%20of%20bee%20species%3A%20reliable%2C%20low-maintenance%20color%20for%20a%20bed%20border.)
Pin this for later
Growing Coreopsis (Tickseed): A native perennial pollinator draw that supports dozens of bee species: reliable, low-maintenance color for a bed border.
Save to Pinterest