Coreopsis lanceolata is a perennial, growing in small clumps but
forming extensive colonies, stems branching near apex, disk
flowers yellow. Coreopsis auriculata nana grows only five to six
inches tall and bears orange-yellow blossoms. It is the first
coreopsis to bloom in the spring. Coreopsis major is an erect
perennial up to three feet tall, branching above. Mid-stem
leaves consist of a whorl of what appears to be six leaves, but
is actually two opposite sessile leaves, each leaf divided into
three narrow, lance-shaped segments. The flower-heads are one to
two inches across with yellow ray flowers, and red or yellow
disk flowers. The rays are not conspicuously toothed. Common in
woodlands, thickets, and old fields. Coreopsis can remain
untended in fields or on sunny banks, where the plants will
thrive and multiply indefinitely. New plants may be started
easily from seeds, or clump divisions in the spring.