Giant Coreopsis, Leptosyne gigantea

About Giant Coreopsis (Leptosyne gigantea) 33 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Giant Coreopsis is a woody perennial plant native to California and Baja California. The stem is a trunk 1-2 meters tall, 4-10 centimeters in diameter, occasionally branching. Bright green leaves and flowers are on the top of the trunk, the rest of the trunk is bare. The flowers are yellow, daisy-like, and 6-20 centimeters in size. It is summer deciduous, leaving a bare trunk in summer. Though not native to San Diego County, it is distributed on the South California central coast, north and central Southern California coast, the California Channel Islands, and further south on Guadalupe Island, Mexico. Now becoming more common due to its use in revegetation projects.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Shrub, Succulent

Size

3.3 - 8 ft tall
2 - 4 ft wide

Form

Rounded, Upright Columnar

Growth Rate

Moderate

Dormancy

Summer Deciduous, Winter Deciduous

Fragrance

None

Flower Color

Yellow

Flowering Season

Winter, Spring

Wildlife Supported

Insects

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 confirmed

, 4 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Orange Tortrix Moth Argyrotaenia franciscanaArgyrotaenia franciscana

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Wavy-Lined Emerald Synchlora aerataSynchlora aerata

Sunflower Moth Homoeosoma electellaHomoeosoma electella

Xanthothrix ranunculiXanthothrix ranunculi

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun

Moisture

Extremely Low, Very Low

Summer Irrigation

Never irrigate once established

Nurseries

Carried by 33

Ease of Care

Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 25° F

Soil Drainage

Fast, Medium

Soil Description

Prefers sand or sandstone. Soil PH: 5.0 - 7.0

Common uses

Bank Stabilization, Hedges, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants

Seacliff Buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium), Red Sand Verbena (Abronia maritima), Beach Sage (Artemisia pycnocephala), Beach Morning Glory

Maintenance

Dried leaves may be removed in summer if desired

Propagation?

May be propagated from cuttings taken in Winter. For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Sunset Zones?

14, 15*, 16*, 17*, 19, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting

Site Type

Coastal sage scrub or chaparral hillsides, dunes, and seabluffs. Prefers to be within a few miles of the coast

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 8.7" - 27.2", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 0.40", Coldest Month: 46.7" - 57.3", Hottest Month: 60.0" - 77.4", Humidity: 0.89" - 22.43", Elevation: -146" - 1900"

Alternative Names

Botanical Names: Coreopsis gigantea

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Giant Coreopsis

Leptosyne gigantea

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Giant CoreopsisLeptosyne gigantea

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Giant Coreopsis

Leptosyne gigantea