Coreopsis verticillata 'Zagreb'
Overview
Uses: Sunny borders, mass plantings, pollinator gardens, rock gardens, cutting beds.
Benefits: One of the longest-blooming perennials available, carrying golden yellow daisies over fine, threadlike foliage from early summer into fall. Spreads slowly by rhizomes into a dense, weed-suppressing colony, and shrugs off heat, drought, and poor soil once established.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3–9
Sun: Full Sun to Partial Sun/Shade
Life Cycle: Hardy Perennial
Growth Habit: Mounding, Spreading — fine-textured mound that slowly colonizes.
Bloom Color: Golden Yellow
Mature Height: 1–1.5 ft.
Mature Width: 1.5–2 ft.
Bloom Season: Early summer through early fall
Growth Rate: Moderate
Summary
Zagreb Threadleaf Coreopsis solves the problem every sunny border eventually runs into: what keeps flowering in August when everything else has quit. This one starts in early summer and is still throwing golden yellow daisies when the asters open.
The foliage is the other half of the appeal. Needle-fine and bright green, it builds a low, soft mound that looks intentional even before the first bud opens, and it never flops or opens up in the middle the way taller coreopsis can. Zagreb is the more compact and more restrained of the two common threadleaf selections, holding tighter and staying in bounds better than Moonbeam while flowering in a deeper, more saturated gold.
It spreads underground at a polite pace, knitting into a colony that crowds out weeds without ever becoming a problem. Poor, gravelly, fast-draining soil is where it performs best. Rich ground and regular water produce softer growth and fewer flowers.
Care
Zagreb Threadleaf Coreopsis Care
Plant Zagreb Threadleaf Coreopsis in full sun in average to poor, well-drained soil. It tolerates partial sun but flowers more heavily and stands more upright with at least six hours of direct light. Sharp drainage matters more than fertility, and heavy clay that stays wet through winter is the one situation to avoid.
Water regularly through the first season to establish. After that it is genuinely drought tolerant and needs supplemental water only in extended dry spells.
Skip fertilizer in average soil. In very poor ground, a single spring application of slow release fertilizer is plenty. Shearing the whole plant back by about a third after the first heavy flush encourages a strong second wave. Cut stems to the ground in late winter before new growth begins.
Size
What Size is the Zagreb Threadleaf Coreopsis for Sale Online?
Our Zagreb Threadleaf Coreopsis ships in a greenhouse-grade grow pot and is appropriately sized for its container at the time of shipment. If you have specific sizing or planting questions, please contact us.
How Large Does Zagreb Threadleaf Coreopsis Grow?
Zagreb Threadleaf Coreopsis grows about twelve to eighteen inches tall and eighteen to twenty-four inches wide, widening slowly by rhizome into a broader colony over several years.
Additional Information
How is Zagreb different from Moonbeam?
Zagreb is shorter, denser, and more upright, and its flowers are a deeper golden yellow rather than the pale butter tone of Moonbeam. Zagreb also holds its shape better late in the season and spreads a little more freely at the root.
Does it need deadheading?
Not for continued bloom. Shearing the plant back by a third after the first heavy flush tidies it and pushes a stronger second wave, but flowers keep coming either way.
Will it spread too far?
It travels by short rhizomes and widens into a colony over several years, but it is not aggressive and stays easy to edge or divide. In dry, lean soil it moves even more slowly.
Is it deer resistant?
Yes. The fine, slightly bitter foliage is left alone by deer and rabbits in most gardens, and it holds up in dry sites where browsing pressure is often heaviest. Browse our deer-resistant perennials and grasses and drought-tolerant plants collections for more.
Is this plant native?
It is a nativar — a garden selection made from Coreopsis verticillata, a species native to the eastern United States. It is not the straight species, but it shares the same parentage and the same value to small pollinators. See our native plants of North America collection for straight species.
