Coreopsis 'Nana'

Coreopsis auriculata is a stoloniferous, herbaceous perennial that grows in 12-18" tall clumps and in dense, bushy, slowly spreading clusters. It is native to southeastern U.S. open woods, ranging from Virginia to Florida and Mississippi. The leaves are hairy, petioled, deep green, and ovate to elliptic. This plant has small lateral lobes at the base of each leaf, which resemble mouse ears, hence the common name mouse ear coreopsis. The daisy-like flowers have eight yellow rays around a yellow disk in the middle. It mainly blooms from April to June on upright flower stalks that reach 18". With regular deadheading of spent flowers, it may continue blooming throughout the summer and into the fall. Usually, the plants stop blooming in the middle of summer, then rebloom after temperatures cool off in the fall.

The plant thrives in medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun. While this species can handle humidity and some dry conditions, it is less drought-tolerant than other Coreopsis species. Tedious deadheading of spent flower stalks can encourage more blooms, especially for extensive planting. Plants may be sheared mid-summer to promote a fall rebloom and remove any sprawling or unkempt foliage. This stoloniferous perennial will slowly spread in the garden over time to form an attractive planting in optimum growing conditions. However, the spread is easy to check. Clumps may be divided in spring.