new growth coreopsis and mulch

[Anonymous]

I am a new gardener and trying to learn how to care for my spring gardens. I have a bed of about 3x3 of just coreopsis - the new spindly growth is poking through and is about 1" high right now. It's in patches, though I hope it will spread. I was thinking - should I put some leaf-gro or compost down in the bare spots and hope it will encourage spreading? Should I mulch, and how? I don't want to bury the fragile little new growth under wood mulch, but it seems like I should mulch eventually? I'd appreciate any advice you have for this inexperienced gardener... thanks.

[Anonymous]

Mulch is good but will not make it grow. Time will.

[Anonymous]

Mulch is for weed suppression and moisture retention. If you plant tightly enough it will be fine. I wouldn't mulch right now. Compost later when it's grown a bit. You don't want to burn the new growth.

[Anonymous]

Thanks. Will the existing growth spread into bare areas if I put down some compost or fertilizer?

[Anonymous]

Coreopsis is a tough plant. Leave it alone this year and see what happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks. Will the existing growth spread into bare areas if I put down some compost or fertilizer?

Nope. The plant doesn’t really spread like that. The clump will get bigger and bigger, but it won’t creep sideways. You can split it and make a few small plants from your one big one and fill space that way.

How about getting some ground covers to go in amongst your coreopsis? Violets, Creeping phlox, and fleabane would all look nice and would fill little gaps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks. Will the existing growth spread into bare areas if I put down some compost or fertilizer?

Nope. The plant doesn’t really spread like that. The clump will get bigger and bigger, but it won’t creep sideways. You can split it and make a few small plants from your one big one and fill space that way.

How about getting some ground covers to go in amongst your coreopsis? Violets, Creeping phlox, and fleabane would all look nice and would fill little gaps.

I'd lean to going this direction. We had 5 coreopsis plants installed in a landscaping project and they were great for 2 or 3 years. Then they suddenly started disappearing. They are now all gone. I like the bigger-leaved coreopsis plants better and might be tempted to try those. But those little feathery-thin-leaved ones....ugh. Such a disappointment.

You may want to mulch to help retain moisture; but I'd use a leaf mulch rather than wood chip or shredded bark AND make sure you don't mulch up to the plant stem. Leave a few inches around so air can still circulate and you don't suffocate the plant.