Uptick™ Gold and Bronze Coreopsis

Golden daisies are certain to bring joy and brightness to every garden, and if you don’t already know Coreopsis, you should. These charming plants, bred from some of our toughest native flowers, are full of summer happiness, with golden daisies sparkling in the sun for weeks and weeks. Whether you use them in a native planting, like a meadow or natural slope, or more formally in beds with other perennials and shrubs, they are sure to please, and being so easy and carefree to grow, they are definite garden winners. Some, though, have a relatively short bloom season, and the flowers are small, so they might not give you the impact you are looking for. But you can put a big check mark next to the Uptick Gold and Bronze Coreopsis, because this beauty has big, big flowers and never stops blooming, from spring to early fall. It’s a breakthrough in breeding these great plants, and sure to be a show-stopper in your garden, bringing the two-tone effect of annual varieties, but in a reliable perennial plant.

Growing Uptick Gold and Bronze Coreopsis

Size and Appearance

The Uptick Gold and Bronze Coreopsis is a hardy perennial plant that dies back to the roots for winter, and comes back tougher and better the following spring. In spring it sends up a cluster of strong stems, producing a mounding plant that is almost 18 inches tall when blooming, and just a little wider. Each stem is covered in two kinds of leaves. Higher up they are long, narrow ovals, about 3 inches long and ½ an inch wide. At the base they are almost 4 inches long and 3 inches wide, divided into three leaflets. All together they make a mound of mid-green, slightly hairy leaves standing about 4 inches tall, that fills the space well.

By late spring long wiry flower stems will be pushing up, with a bud at the end. These open into a large daisy flower over 2½ inches across – huge for a Coreopsis. Each flower lasts about 10 days, but they just keep on coming and coming, from early June into September and beyond. The disc of the flower is yellow, and the petals that radiate from it, ending with an irregular tip, are burnt orange towards the center, changing to golden yellow in the outer half. They make a wonderful and persistent display of brightness and glory that really draws the eye and looks terrific anywhere and everywhere. They are popular with pollinating insects too, so great for your local ecology.

Using the Uptick Gold and Bronze Coreopsis in Your Garden

A perfect plant for semi-wild and cottage planting, or more ‘organized’ arrangements, you can grow the Uptick Gold and Bronze Coreopsis in beds, along the edge of shrub borders, on slopes and rocky banks, retaining walls and in rock gardens. Grow it in planters and pots too, for brilliant summer color as good as any annual flowers.

Hardiness

The Uptick Gold and Bronze Coreopsis is hardy in all but the coldest zones, growing well in zone 5, and right into the heat and humidity of zone 9.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Grow the Uptick Gold and Bronze Coreopsis in full sun for the best results. Shade will greatly reduce the vigor, and quantity of flowers. Grow it in any well-drained soil – the beauty of this plant is how well it grows even in poor and rocky soils, although it isn’t as drought resistant as some other Coreopsis. It does grow best in slightly richer soil, with some watering through summer, but it’s tough enough to do well even in dry, ignored places.

Maintenance and Pruning

Neither deer nor rabbits bother with this plant, and neither do pests or diseases – it is so easy to grow you will hardly believe it. It has good resistance to powdery, keeping the foliage clean and green. Remove spent flowers at the bottom of the flower stem – don’t cut leaves. This will keep more and more flowers coming. In late fall, once it begins to yellow and fade, cut the stems back to an inch or two in length. That’s it – you are done for the year.

History and Origin of the Uptick Gold and Bronze Coreopsis

There are about 80 species of Coreopsis, also called tickseed, growing throughout north, central and southern America. The name comes from the Greek word koris, (κόρις) which means ‘bedbug’, because the seed looks insect-like. Several species are grown in gardens, some with fine, feathery leaves and others with larger leaves. They also vary in winter hardiness, with some acting as annuals in colder zones.

Blair Winner, based in Ventura, California, is a plant breeder specializing in marigolds and other daisy flowers, and he developed many breeding plants of Coreopsis. From these he eventually selected the very best one in 2013, and named it ‘Baluptgonz’. He passed the rights to Ball Horticulture, who patented it in 2018. They released it in their trademark series Uptick, as the color Gold and Bronze.

Buying the Uptick Gold and Bronze Coreopsis at the Tree Center

With its extra-large flowers produced for so many months, the Uptick Gold and Bronze Coreopsis is a fabulous way to bring easy color and brightness into your garden – as good as annual flowers, without all that work. It has already become a big hit, so order your plants now, because we don’t have many to go round.