Tickseed 'Leading Lady™' Coreopsis

Multi Buy

Size Guide
3.5
3.5" Perennial
3 or more $6.00 ea
Regularly: $6.99 ea

Tickseed 'Leading Lady™' Coreopsis

Scott's Nursery Ltd.

$3.50
Title

Infuse your sunny spaces with an absolute powerhouse of nonstop, high-visibility colour. This elite, award-winning hybrid series develops remarkably tidy, rounded mounds of lush green foliage that disappear beneath a dense canopy of brilliant, sunny blossoms. Each multi-petaled, eye-catching flower radiates supreme cheerfulness, creating a sensational carpet of gold that infuses traditional borders, rock gardens, and patio containers with unmatched visual energy all summer long.
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Plant Details

Mature Size:

14" H x 16" W

Zone:

4-9

Watering:

Low to Medium

Type:

Herbaceous Perennial

Growth Rate:

Moderate

Light:

Full Sun

Plant Profile

Common Names:

Leading Lady Tickseed, Hybrid Pot-of-Gold Coreopsis, Early-Blooming Large-Flowered Tickseed

Scientific Name:

Coreopsis × hybrida 'Leading Lady™'

Type:

Filler / Heavy-Blooming Perennial

Growth Details:

Mature Size: 12 to 18 inches tall and 12 to 24 inches wide (depending on the specific cultivar; e.g., 'Charlize' stays highly compact while 'Sophia' builds a slightly wider footprint).

Growth Habit: Tidy, densely branched, rounded mounding habit.

Form: Compact, uniform, bushy cushion.

Growth Rate: Medium.

Flowering: Profuse, crown-covering sheets of large semi-double or double flat-faced tubular daisy blossoms.

Flowering Time: Late spring through early autumn (Continuous from June until the first heavy frost).

Flower Colour: Brilliant butter-yellow, rich true yellow, or glowing golden-yellow.

Environmental Needs:

Exposure: Full sun.

Soil Preferences: Thrives best in poor, average, lean, or sandy soils with sharp, rapid drainage.

Soil Tolerance: Exceptional tolerance for nutrient-depleted, gravelly, or rocky soil conditions; highly vulnerable to crown decay in heavy, waterlogged winter mud.

Watering: Low to moderate. Allow the soil surface to dry out completely between watering intervals.

Container Role: Performs beautifully as a heavy-blooming Filler that introduces continuous structural brightness to mixed patio arrangements.

Special Features:

Disease Resistances: Exceptional, highly improved resistance to powdery mildew and typical leaf spots that plague older coreopsis varieties.

Native Species: No (A highly refined, sterile interspecific hybrid series).

Fast Growing: Yes (Achieves full size and heavy first-year flowering on hardy frames).

Attracts: Intensely alluring to butterflies, wild bumblebees, honeybees, and beneficial native insect pollinators.

Uses: Sunny cutting gardens, pathway framing, container centrepieces, xeriscaping, and front-of-border accenting.

Resistance: Highly deer-resistant and rabbit-resistant due to the light texture and natural oils of the foliage. Exceptional drought and heat tolerance.
Care Guide

Ornamental & Landscape Value

Seasonal Interest:

Bloom Information: Exceptionally showy, long-season blooms that completely blanket the green framework for months on end.

Fall Colour: Foliage retains its clean emerald-green color well into autumn before the entire plant dies back to the ground for winter dormancy.

Garden Value:

Ornamental Interest: Compact, dense mounds of fine emerald-green foliage topped by large, structurally striking semi-double or double daisy blossoms.

Landscaping Uses: Ideal for mass public plantings, high-impact pathway edging, sunny perennial borders, rock gardens, and low-maintenance erosion control slopes.

Garden / Landscape Benefits: Specially engineered to flower much earlier in the spring than traditional varieties and features elite, built-in structural resistance to powdery mildew.

Wildlife & Human Value:

Wildlife Value: Provides an essential, reliable season-long nectar and pollen platform for vital indigenous bees and migrating butterflies.

Human Value: The sturdy, rigid stems make excellent, long-lasting cut flowers for fresh bouquets. Delivers premium, zero-stress curb appeal for busy homeowners.

Planting & Care Guide

Planting Considerations:

Best Time To Plant: Early spring after hard winter freezes pass, or early autumn to let roots establish before winter.

Spacing: Space individual plants 12 to 18 inches apart to allow for excellent, healthy air circulation and uniform canopy development.

Location Tips: Select highly exposed, open garden areas that bake in summer heat; avoid low spots or heavy, unamended clay beds.

Companion Plants: Pairs magnificently with deep purple Salvias, dark-foliaged Coral Bells (Heuchera), blue-toned Ornamental Grasses, Russian Sage, and Red Coneflowers.

Care:

Light Requirements: Demands full sun to maintain high flower production and keep its dense branching tight and uniform.

Moisture Requirements: Needs regular watering during its first season to map out a deep root network; becomes exceptionally drought-tolerant and self-sufficient once established.

Maintenance, Fertilization: This innovative series is highly self-cleaning, meaning old flowers drop off naturally without requiring tedious deadheading. Shearing the top layer back by a few inches in mid-summer is optional but will stimulate a completely fresh, uniform wave of autumn buds. Apply a very sparse, balanced slow-release fertilizer in early spring; avoid over-fertilizing.

Tolerances:

Punishing summer heat, extended drought, rocky and sand-filled soils, and severe winter cold.

Tips For Success:

Thinning / Pinching: Clumps can be easily divided every 3 to 4 years in early spring to rejuvenate the crown and propagate new plants.

Support / Staking: Completely unnecessary; the stiff, compact branching network holds the large flowers upright even through heavy summer downpours.

Special Needs: Absolute soil drainage is vital; do not allow the roots to sit in stagnant winter water.

Mulching: Use a very thin layer of grit or light mulch around the base; avoid piling wet, heavy organic barks directly against the crown.

Winter Protection: Leave the spent stems standing through winter to shield the root crown, then cut everything down cleanly to ground level in early spring before fresh green shoots pop up.