Plant care & info

Family: Asteraceae

Genus: Rudbeckia

Common Name: Black-Eyed Susan

Native to North America, the genus contains 15 species of perennials in the daisy family. Famed botanist, Carl Linnaeus, named Rudbeckia to honor Olaus Rudbeck (1660-1740), a professor at Uppsala University who employed young Linnaeus as a tutor for his 24 children.

Likes full sun and moist, well drained soil.

Deadhead to encourage continued blooming.

Slugs. Powdery mildew can occur, but usually only in late season.

Easy to propagate by seed or root division.

Rudbeckia attracts butterflies and other beneficial insects to the garden, and they make great cut flowers too. Cutting also encourages re-blooming later in the season. With the right conditions and proper care, you could be enjoying Rudbeckia from late summer until the first frost.

Explore More Black Eyed Susan

Early Bird Gold

Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Early Bird Gold’

Produces yellow, 2-2.5 inches wide flowers with black to brown central cones. Develops flowers in summer. Branching stems have broad lance-shaped foliage. Spreads by rhizomes to form a larger clump. Grows 3’ tall and 2’ wide over a few years.

Goldsturm

Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’

Produces 3 inch black-eyed yellow flowers on 2-2.5 feet stems.

Gloriosa Daisy

Rudbeckia hirta ‘Gloriosa Daisy’

This is a short lived perennial in the Pacific Northwest. It flowers in the first summer from seed sown in early spring. Flowers are daisy-like, 2-4 inches wide, and have orange or yellow rays with a prominent purple-black cone. Grows 3-4 feet tall and 1-1.5 feet wide with an upright branching habit.

Cherokee Sunset

Rudbeckia hirta ‘Cherokee Sunset’

Produces double and semi-double 3-4 inches flowers in shades of yellow, orange, red, bronze and mahogany. Some are bicolor. Grows 24 inches high and 12 inches wide.

Prairie Sun

Rudbeckia hirta ‘Prairie Sun’

Flowers have bright orange petals with lemon yellow tips. Central cones are green. Grows 36” high by 24” wide.

Toto

Rudbeckia hirta ‘Toto’

Flowers are a golden-yellow ray with a brown central cone. This is a dwarf, reaching 8-10”high.

Irish Eyes

Rudbeckia ‘Irish Eyes’

Produces 2-3” golden-yellow flowers with a light green central cone that ages to brown.

Laciniata

Rudbeckia Laciniata

Develops 2-3.5” wide flowers with drooping yellow rays and a green central cone. It has light green, deeply lobed leaves reaching 4” long. Blooms from summer to fall. It can reach 10 feet tall and 4 feet wide.

Herbstsonne

Rudbeckia nitida “Herbstsonne”

This is similar to Rudbeckia laciniata, but shorter reaching only 6 feet tall. It produces single 4-5” wide flowers with yellow rays and a bright green cone that ages to yellow. Grows 6’ tall by 2’ wide.

Henry Eilers

Rudbeckia subtomentosum ‘Henry Eilers’

Produces charming blooms of unusual, gold-quilled petals highlighted by chocolate-brown button centers. It is a narrow upright grower, making it a great specimen for the back of the border. This is an excellent cut flower!