Star Cluster Coreopsis Blooms in White

Virtues: Star Cluster coreopsis, a member of the disease-resistant and long-blooming Big Bang series, offers white flowers with gold centers ringed in purple. This unique color makes this coreopsis easy to combine with a wide range of other summer-blooming perennials and annuals. It’s also deer resistant and tolerant of drought.

Common name: ‘Star Cluster’ coreopsis, tickseed

Botanical name:Coreopsis Big Bang ‘Star Cluster’

Exposure: Full sun

Season: Summer into fall, for flowers

Flowers: The two-inch daisy-like flowers have white rays ringing a central golden disc. The rays each have a flare of dark purple at the base, particularly in cooler weather. This makes a pinwheel of purple around the gold disc. This is a sterile variety, meaning it cannot set seed and it will continue blooming without the gardener deadheading it.

Foliage: Dark green, long and narrow leaves provide a fine texture.

Habit: Herbaceous perennial reaching 24 to 30 inches tall and wide.

Origins: Star Cluster coreopsis is part of the Big Bang series developed by New England–based Darrell Probst. The Big Bang varieties offer large flowers, a long bloom time and good disease resistance. These varieties are subjected to testing at nurseries in the Northeast, Pacific Northwest, Southeast and Upper Midwest before their release.

How to grow Star Cluster coreopsis: Site in full sun and well-drained soil of any type. Provide regular water until the plant is established; after that coreopsis can handle some drought. Fertilizer is not recommended for coreopsis. Deadheading is not required with this sterile variety, but the entire plant can be shorn back to bring on a fresh spurt of growth and heavier rebloom in the latter part of summer. Leave dead stalks standing through winter to protect against harsh weather; cut these back in earliest spring to make way for new growth. USDA Zones 5–9.

Image credit: National Garden Bureau