Native Habitat:
Seasonally moist prairies, wet meadows, open grasslands, stream margins, and disturbed open ground of the Pacific Northwest and western North America. It is particularly suited to sunny sites with spring moisture followed by summer drying, making it useful in meadow and prairie plantings.
Bloom Time:
June – September
Growth Habit & Mature Size:
Annual herb, typically 1–3 feet tall, with slender, branching stems and finely divided foliage. Numerous daisy-like flower heads are produced on long stems. The rays are generally yellow with a reddish-brown or maroon base, surrounding a yellow to reddish-brown central disk.
Light & Soil Requirements:
Full sun; prefers well-drained to moderately moist soils and tolerates clay, loam, and sandy soils. It performs particularly well in sites that receive good moisture during spring and early summer but become substantially drier later in the season.
Willamette Valley Native Companion Plants:
Camassia leichtlinii
Deschampsia cespitosa
Carex tumulicola
Achillea millefolium
Helenium bigelovii
Symphyotrichum subspicatum
Urban Garden Function:
A colorful annual for native meadows, pollinator gardens, rain-garden edges, seasonal wetland plantings, and restoration projects. Its long flowering period provides color after many spring wildflowers have finished, while its airy branching habit allows it to weave naturally among grasses and sedges. Because it grows quickly from seed, it can provide habitat while slower perennial plants become established.
Wildlife Supported:
The open flower heads provide pollen and nectar for a wide range of insects, including native bees, bumblebees, sweat bees, mining bees, syrphid flies, butterflies, skippers, and beetles. The central disk contains numerous small florets that provide repeated feeding opportunities for small insects. The foliage supports herbivorous insects, including aphids, leafhoppers, caterpillars, and beetles, which in turn provide food for spiders, predatory insects, frogs, and insect-eating birds. Mature seeds are also eaten by small seed-eating birds.
Historical Use:
Specific ethnobotanical information for this variety is limited. Coreopsis species have been used traditionally by Indigenous peoples in different regions for food, medicine, dyes, and other purposes, but these uses vary by species and culture. The flowers of Coreopsis tinctoria are particularly well known for their historical use as a source of yellow, orange, and reddish dyes.
Seed Germination:
Atkinson's Plains Coreopsis is generally easy to grow from seed and does not normally require complicated treatment. Direct sowing is preferred because it is an annual. Sow seed in late fall or early spring, pressing it into prepared soil and covering it only lightly—approximately ⅛ inch deep. For spring sowing, 30 days of cold-moist stratification can improve and synchronize germination, although fall sowing usually provides this naturally.
Keep the seed bed lightly moist until seedlings are established. Germination generally occurs within 1–3 weeks under cool to moderate spring temperatures. Once established, plants tolerate increasing dryness. Allow some flowers to mature and drop seed if you want the species to self-sow naturally in subsequent years.
