Coreopsis auriculata, or “Mouse-eared Coreopsis”, is a sun-loving favorite for the native perennial garden in the Southeast. The flowers are single, about 2 inches across, with a center of golden disk flowers and 8 golden, characteristically toothed petals or ray flowers. They are held at 12 – 24 inches high, well above a deep green mat of foliage which remains green in the winter. ‘Nana’ is a short cultivar with flowers topping out at 9 or 10 inches. Basal and stem leaves are simple, hairy, ovate, about 3″ long, and some of them have small, lateral lobes at their base reminding someone of mouse ears. Butterflies are drawn to the flowers April to June, and a few weeks later, when the disk flowers have developed into seeds, birds begin to visit as well. The plant spreads by way of stolons. ‘Nana’ seeds are said to be fewer in number than the species, and the new plants would revert to the species in height, so ‘Nana’ should be propagated by clump division in spring or from stolon sprouts. These are a favorite in the South because they thrive in our heat and humidity. The USDA plant distribution map linked below is for the species.
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Coreopsis auriculata ‘Nana’
Key Info
Scientific Name: Coreopsis auriculata (L) 'Nana'
Common Names: Dwarf Tickseed, Dwarf Lobed Tickseed, Dwarf Mouse-eared Coreopsis, Dwarf Eared Coreopsis, Dwarf Early Coreopsis
Family Names: Asteraceae (Composite, or Daisy Family)
Leaf Retention: Evergreen
Flower Color: Gold
Additional Info
Habit: Grows as an evergreen mat with flowers at the tips of long, leafless stalks.
Height: 9" (Nana); 18" (species)
Spread: 18"
Soil Conditions: Average to moist (not wet); acidic to circumneutral pH; sandy, loamy
Leaves: Leaf blades are simple, hairy, about 3" long with long petioles; the upper leaves with lateral lobes at the base ("mouse ears").
Flowers (or reproductive structures: The mostly solitary 2"-flowers are composed of 8 petals or ray flowers with distinctive notching and a center of golden, fertile, disk flowers, carried on a long (up to 18") leafless stalk.
Fruit: Single, dark brown seeds, narrowly winged, about 4 weeks after the flower withers.
Natural Distribution: Open woods, roadsides from Virginia to Florida and Mississippi.
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 to 9
USDA Wetland Indicator Status in NC: not available
Pollination: Bees
Wildlife Connections: The flowers attract bees and butterflies, skippers, moths, wasps and beetles. The foliage hosts several types of moth caterpillars. The seeds attract songbirds. Mammals also feed on the foliage, including rabbits, deer, groundhogs, horses andlivestock (Illinoiswildflowers.info).
Propagation: Division.