Eww, I am with you I love the coreopsis. Looks like mahogony midget or maybe lime rock ruby coreopsis but I probaly didnt spell the first one right. Whatever the name of the little one I like it even if it does flop.

Oooh. Token, please save seeds of that red Coreopsis for me. :-) Thks.

pitimpinai, make a note. I'll be saving seeds of those all summer. I want a huge mass of these next year. Going to make a great border plant.

That coreopsis is great! I got some red coreopsis in swaps too--if I don't get something like yours, I'll be begging for seeds from you!

My Maltese Cross was floppy in its first year too, now it's stately and upright.

The definitely looks like "Mahogany Midget" that I have in my beds. It reseeds too Token, so much so that it almost seems like a perennial. Shear it back right after bloom and it will set new blooms all summer long. But you won't be able to collect seed until you are willing to let the "last" booms set seed and ripen.

Definitely give that Maltese Cross another year; I'm not sure why it's so spindly; mine never got that way with a stem like that. Also, the coloring on mine is more red than the scarlet that yours appear. Perhaps mine are a different variety...

Mine are just poking their heads out now starting to bloom; I'll take pix, and if you're interested, will save you some seed.

Lovey.
Maltese X is just starting to bloom here too.
I hope I get some red Plains Coreopsis (C. tinctoria) out of some of the re-seeders (a ton btw). Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't; mostly just get all yellow and the bi-color yellow/red blooming.
Some pics from summer and fall 2007
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MM, I've read that Maltese Cross likes more shade that what I've given it. Maybe I'll move it this winter. For some reason, I was thinking it's an annual. I know it's not.

Vera, I get a lot of those plains coreopsis too. I threw out some wildflower seeds last year and those were the most plentiful. I moved some this spring into another bed and they're blooming like the ones you showed. They're so pretty and tons of blooms.

Token, a word about Maltese Cross. I grew them and last year, I got those spindly little things too. This year, it's quite diferent. They are all standing tall, and I hope the blooms will be fuller. The ones in full sun sometimes wilt in the afternoon sun, but the ones in part shade don't. Mine are just in bud, about to flower so I'll post and let you see what happens in the second year. I do believe this is the variety that is 'making the rounds' right now because a few years ago I had some plants that had much thicker flower stems and stood erect from the start. Unfortunately I lost them in a transplant attempt - did not know what I was doing then.
Northerner.

Mine was in full sun for 3 years; I just moved it this year beside a lilac/behind some daylilies. It's shadier there than where it was, so I'll see what the difference is.

I think I'll have to move it again in the fall, though; how is it that I can never picture how 'bushy' things will get and crowd out other things? They had so much ROOM when I moved them in March! LOL. Guess I need to work on that.

Don't be disappointed in first year growth. Here's a shot of my second year. (Just going into 4th now, setting bud).
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Here's a close up.
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I also got a second bloom by deadheading vigorously.

(Oooh..that sounds cruel...)

Okay Wendy, those look great. I'll give them another year and maybe do some pruning this week to see if I can't get fuller plants.

My maltese cross were WSown last year, now blooming for first time. They range from one foot to 3 feet in height. Some are buried in taller plants. They're not floppy, at least not yet.

Karen

Mine were planted out over a month ago, and they are still only about an inch tall. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll even see any blooms this year.

Bonnie

Yes, give Maltese X another year, they will grow more robust and stand tall. The only thing I can say is do not plant where the wind will beat them to death. I have to remove mine from the east side; they get ripped apart in that location. Elsewhere in the garden they are stunning in bloom and don't flop. The only other thing I can say is make sure to have something planted that will hide the bottom half of plants; they tend to become raggedy as the season progresses. Cut plants back by half for rebloom.
2nd year plant pics:
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...with Feverfew 'Flore Pleno'
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I just hope my WS Maltese Cross babies snap out of their funk after having been drowned from the rain we had two weeks ago. Half of the babies died so I pulled them out, the others are struggling to survive.

Karen

Token, here are some pics. I took today. These plants flopped last year and produced the puniest of blooms. This year they are upright and ready to bloom. This is the second year, grown in part-sun:

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This is the second year, grown in full sun:
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