Coreopsis Sea Shells Mix - Tickseed seeds

The Sea Shells Mix Coreopsis is an annual plant resulting from a long and rigorous horticultural selection. This mix has won the Fleuroselect Innovation Award. Its unusual and fascinating flowers are of the "shell" type, meaning they have tubular ligules. The bicoloured shades they offer are unprecedented: duos of very dark red with cream white, yellow, or pink depending on the plant. This fast-growing and very easy coreopsis will flower all summer, from June to October.

Sea Shells Mix is derived from Coreopsis tinctoria, also known as dyer's coreopsis, a plant that has a strictly annual life cycle. Native to the plains of North America, the species develops clumps of narrow, toothed basal foliage, from which 1m (3ft) tall, slender floral stems rise. They bear yellow flowers spotted with a brown-red disk. This annual coreopsis craves heat and is drought-resistant.

Sea Shells Mix is a mixture of dwarf plants, reaching a height of 45 cm (18in) with equivalent width and abundant multicoloured flowering from June to the first frost. Delicate and airy flowers carried by slender stems seem to hover in the wind above its light foliage. They have an unusual shell-like shape, called with tubular ligules. Each one is bicolored, in a range of dark red, yellow, pale pink, and cream-white tones.

The compact and bushy shape of Sea Shells Mix coreopsis is perfectly suited for flower borders, flower beds, or even pots on the terrace. Plant them in full sun in light and well-drained soil. Pair them with rudbeckias, echinaceas and daylilies. Add the light, solid-coloured flowers of Gaura lindheimeri which bring some calm to this composition, as do beautiful ornamental grasses like Stipa or Carex. A few taller plants like Verbena bonariensis provide some airiness. Also good for dry annual flower beds. It has a good vase life, a few flowering stems of coreopsis mix well with cosmos, zinnias, centaureas... to create beautiful summer bouquets.

The ecological value:
By sowing coreopsis in your garden, you will attract pollinating insects and other beneficial insects, enticed by the scent of their flowers' nectar. This will improve the health of your garden's ecosystem, particularly important for numerous fruits and vegetables. So, plant a few near your vegetable patch.