Please help with Coreopsis Creme Brulee

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

I bought some 4" pots of Creme Brulee...each pot has about 6-8 stems, but they go out from the center and don't look very nice...all the buds are way up top. I assume this is because they were in the pots for too long, so they don't have any bottom leaves.

If I were to plant them and give them a hair cut right away...maybe down to 4-5", would I be giving up bloom for the entire season, or would this achieve what I would like: 1) Allow the plant time to put down roots and 2) Create a bushier plant 3) that would bloom later this year and look better for having been cut back.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
8 years ago
I'm going to respond and hopefully bump this thread for more advanced gardeners. Some Coreopsis are iron-clad stalwarts that never die, and others are new and fancier temperamental ones. I planted some fancy temperamental ones last year and they did not survive our unusually brutal weather and even more unusually cold April nights. But, i thought Creme Brûlée was more in the stalwart category. If that's the case, enjoy the blooms now and they'll be fine. You can cut off the dying blooms before they try to set seed if you are wanting to save it some energy. Just give it good water while it's being established. Check out this link for some good info.

If I am wrong, hopefully somebody will respond and correct me!
Faith
8 years ago
I don’t have experience with anything but common tickseed (not any of the specialty ones), but my experience is that they respond very well to deadheading (and cutting off buds is just premature deadheading), and yes, you can shear them to help them become more bushy. However, with my plants at least, the buds were always “way up on top” as you put it, kind of floating above the foliage.
Related Professionals
Torrington Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Aurora Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Traverse City Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Yuba City Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Yakima Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Mount Vernon Landscape Contractors · Lake Charles Landscape Contractors · Charlottesville Landscape Contractors · Flint Landscape Contractors · Effingham Home Builders · Rolla Home Builders · Meridian Home Builders · Traverse City Home Builders · Lincoln Home Builders · Provo Home Builders
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
i would not give a severe haircut to a new transplant ... you might want to plant it.. give it a week or 3 for the leaves to feed the roots so they can settle in.. and then go for the haircut ..

imo... i would not fert a new transplant until it settles in ... so that would not make up for the severe hair cut ...

ken