Coreopsis Madras Magic

The Madras Magic Coreopsis is a flowering and robust perennial that will delight you all summer with its raspberry-hearted pink star-shaped flowers. With its fine dark green foliage, undemanding and hardy, it will enhance your sunny rockeries in any light and well-drained soil. It only requires a little deadheading to be at its best and also performs excellently in pots.

The Madras Magic coreopsis belongs to the large family of Asteraceae (also known as Composites) and is part of a widely used genus in gardens: it includes both large species (Coreopsis grandiflora) and small rock plants. These species are mostly native to bright clearings and meadows in North America, where they thrive on relatively poor but well-drained soils. They all produce delightful "sun" flowers, mostly in golden yellow shades, but also more recently in pale yellow, pink and red. The small varieties with narrow leaves, mainly derived from C. verticillata, have produced many hybrids that are not always very reliable: they fade after a few years or show sensitivity to cold.

The Madras Magic coreopsis is derived from the Majaraja hybrid series, which are distinguished by their regular habit, bicolored flowers, long lifespan, and good resistance to mildew, which can cause grey spots on the leaves. From June to October, it produces a profusion of flowers whose "petals" (actually ligulate flowers) are pale pink with a raspberry heart, on a dense clump that will not exceed 35 cm (14in) in height and 50 cm (20in) in diameter. It spreads slowly through short rhizomes just below the soil surface.

Resistant and hardy, 'Madras Magic' will grow in full sun in any slightly acidic to slightly alkaline soil and requires good drainage to develop properly: in heavy and waterlogged soil during winter, its longevity will be greatly reduced. It tolerates summer drought once established. To achieve long and regular flowering, remember to remove faded flowers from time to time: this will stimulate the production of new flower buds, until autumn if weather permits. In overly rich soil, the plant may also become floppy: do not hesitate to trim the shrub in July to encourage branching and the formation of new flowers closer to the ground. Due to its compact size and undemanding nature, 'Madras Magic' coreopsis is also an excellent variety for container gardening.

You can plant it in your rockeries, alongside small perennials that appreciate the same conditions such as compact oregano, Caucasian rockcress Bakkely, 'Cascade Red' aubrieta, or delicate grasses like Bouteloua gracilis.