Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
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$1.00
$1.00 - $5.60
$1.00
per item
This cheerful, widespread wildflower is considered an annual to a short-lived perennial across its range. Bright-yellow, 2-3 in. wide, daisy-like flowers with dark centers are its claim-to-fame. They occur singly atop 1-2 ft. stems. The stems and scattered, oval leaves are covered with bristly hairs. Coarse, rough-stemmed plant with daisy-like flower heads made up of showy golden-yellow ray flowers, with disk flowers forming a brown central cone.
This native prairie biennial forms a rosette of leaves the first year, followed by flowers the second year. It is covered with hairs that give it a slightly rough texture. The Green-headed Coneflower (R. laciniata) has yellow ray flowers pointing downward, a greenish-yellow disk, and irregularly divided leaves.
This native prairie biennial forms a rosette of leaves the first year, followed by flowers the second year. It is covered with hairs that give it a slightly rough texture. The Green-headed Coneflower (R. laciniata) has yellow ray flowers pointing downward, a greenish-yellow disk, and irregularly divided leaves.
Scientific Name: Rudbeckia hirta
Ease of Growing: Easy
Other Common Names: Gloriosa Daisy, Yellow Ox-eye Daisy
Grown as: Biennial
Maturity: 70 Days
Hardiness: Hardy. Black-Eyed Susan can tolerate light frost and will sometimes survive a hard frost or snow.
Crops: Spring Transplant, Spring
Growing Season: Short, Long
Growing Conditions: Cool, Warm. Black-Eyed Susan tolerate a wide variety of climates but will do best in full sun, well-draining rich soil, and cool temperatures. The plants will often stop blooming in hot weather.
Outdoor Growing Temp: 55°F - 85°F
Min Outdoor Soil Temp: 60°F. Black-Eyed Susan seeds can be planted as soon as the soil warms up to around 60˚ F.
Start Indoors: Yes
Start Outdoors: Yes
Water: Moderate. Black-Eyed Susan plants require regular watering but never water so much that the soil becomes soggy.
Feeder: Light. Black-Eyed Susan prefers a rich soil but will tolerate poor soils of many types.
Suitability: Tolerates light frost
Small Gardens?: Yes
Containers?: Yes. Sometimes known as “pot marigold,” Black-Eyed Susan is easily grown in pots on the doorstep or in window boxes.
Attracts beneficial insects?: Yes. Butterflies, bees and a variety of insects are attracted to the flowers for the nectar.
Height: 12-36”
Spacing: 15-18”
Produces: A mixture of pure yellow and splashy bicolors, most with dark mahogany red splotches at the base of the petals, creating a stunning pinwheel effect
USDA Grow Zone: 4a-10b
Ease of Growing: Easy
Other Common Names: Gloriosa Daisy, Yellow Ox-eye Daisy
Grown as: Biennial
Maturity: 70 Days
Hardiness: Hardy. Black-Eyed Susan can tolerate light frost and will sometimes survive a hard frost or snow.
Crops: Spring Transplant, Spring
Growing Season: Short, Long
Growing Conditions: Cool, Warm. Black-Eyed Susan tolerate a wide variety of climates but will do best in full sun, well-draining rich soil, and cool temperatures. The plants will often stop blooming in hot weather.
Outdoor Growing Temp: 55°F - 85°F
Min Outdoor Soil Temp: 60°F. Black-Eyed Susan seeds can be planted as soon as the soil warms up to around 60˚ F.
Start Indoors: Yes
Start Outdoors: Yes
Water: Moderate. Black-Eyed Susan plants require regular watering but never water so much that the soil becomes soggy.
Feeder: Light. Black-Eyed Susan prefers a rich soil but will tolerate poor soils of many types.
Suitability: Tolerates light frost
Small Gardens?: Yes
Containers?: Yes. Sometimes known as “pot marigold,” Black-Eyed Susan is easily grown in pots on the doorstep or in window boxes.
Attracts beneficial insects?: Yes. Butterflies, bees and a variety of insects are attracted to the flowers for the nectar.
Height: 12-36”
Spacing: 15-18”
Produces: A mixture of pure yellow and splashy bicolors, most with dark mahogany red splotches at the base of the petals, creating a stunning pinwheel effect
USDA Grow Zone: 4a-10b
Soil Preference:
Soil pH: 4.5-8.3, Ideal 6.0-7.0. Black-Eyed Susan will grow in almost any soil, but prefers a rich, well-drained one.
Soil Preparation:
Compost (Nitrogen), 2" in top 6" of soil, 1 time: Incorporate a maximum 2" of compost into the top 6" of soil before planting.
Soil pH: 4.5-8.3, Ideal 6.0-7.0. Black-Eyed Susan will grow in almost any soil, but prefers a rich, well-drained one.
Soil Preparation:
Compost (Nitrogen), 2" in top 6" of soil, 1 time: Incorporate a maximum 2" of compost into the top 6" of soil before planting.
Direct sow in late fall, pressing into the surface of the soil since this plant needs light to germinate. For spring planting, mix the seeds with moist sand and store in the refrigerator for 30 days before planting. Keep the soil lightly moist until germination, which usually takes 2-3 weeks. The seeds can also be started indoors 6-8 weeks before planting in spring. Keep seedlings lightly moist, and transplant them as soon as they have developed several leaves.
Water seedlings regularly until they become established. This plant grows very quickly and needs little care. Though it grows well in fairly dry soil, it performs best with occasional watering in dry weather. This plant usually begins blooming in its second year of growth. Mature plants tolerate heat and drought well, as well as tolerating clay or rocky soils. Deadhead for the longest blooming period. Mature plants can be divided. This plant attracts butterflies, and may self-seed.
Keep soil evenly moist and keep the area well-weeded for the best blooms. Never over-water - soil should never be soggy.
Water Needs: Moderate. Black Eyed Susan plants require regular watering but never water so much that the soil becomes soggy.
Fertilizer Needs: Light. Black Eyed Susan prefers a rich soil but will tolerate poor soils of many types.
Watering, regularly: Water, 1/2", regularly, 2 times a week. Watering also depends on your local weather; don't water if it's raining, or water more frequently if it's dry. Just be sure to keep soil moist but never soggy for the best crop. The best way to know how much moisture is in your soil is to feel 2" below the soil line. If it's dry, water.
Weeding, before flowering: before flowering, every 2 weeks. Keep Black Eyed Susan well-weeded, especially while young.
Pruning, after flowering: after flowering, 1 time a week. Remove flowers when they start to fade for continued blooms.
Support: No
Water Needs: Moderate. Black Eyed Susan plants require regular watering but never water so much that the soil becomes soggy.
Fertilizer Needs: Light. Black Eyed Susan prefers a rich soil but will tolerate poor soils of many types.
Watering, regularly: Water, 1/2", regularly, 2 times a week. Watering also depends on your local weather; don't water if it's raining, or water more frequently if it's dry. Just be sure to keep soil moist but never soggy for the best crop. The best way to know how much moisture is in your soil is to feel 2" below the soil line. If it's dry, water.
Weeding, before flowering: before flowering, every 2 weeks. Keep Black Eyed Susan well-weeded, especially while young.
Pruning, after flowering: after flowering, 1 time a week. Remove flowers when they start to fade for continued blooms.
Support: No
To harvest black-eyed Susan seeds, snip or pull the seed heads off the plants and place them in a brown bag as you walk through the garden. Shake the bag or open the cones to dislodge the seeds from the cones. Sift the seeds and remove any leaves or plant debris.
Not all the seeds will be viable, so save more than you think you'll need. Spread the seeds out in a shallow box or cookie tray and store in a dry location, such as a garage, for several weeks or until the seeds feel completely dry. Package the seeds in a plastic or paper bag, label them and store them in the refrigerator.
Black-eyed Susan looks great with almost any of the native prairie and meadow species, but it looks particularly nice with airy white flowers such as flowering spurge (Euphorbia corallata), White Shasta Daisies, White phlox (Phlox paniculata ‘David’), or Pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea).
They are also well-suited to planting colorful flowers such as the brilliant orange butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), clasping coneflower, purple coneflower, purple Salvia nemorosa, or the deep blue-purple Delphinium exaltatum. Other good companions include lance-leaf coreopsis, butterfly milkweed, gaillardia, Russian sage, stonecrop, and ox-eye daisy. You can use it with daylilies, hollyhock and aster, as well.
To balance the scale of black-eyed Susans, you can even interplant them with Hosta, or (as they are often used in roadside plantings) plant them with ornamental grasses such as variegated maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis 'Variegatus') in drifts. You can even plant them as borders around your rose garden.
Some gardeners plant black-eyed Susan in their vegetable gardens, not only for visual interest, but to attract pollinators useful for vegetable growth.
They are also well-suited to planting colorful flowers such as the brilliant orange butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), clasping coneflower, purple coneflower, purple Salvia nemorosa, or the deep blue-purple Delphinium exaltatum. Other good companions include lance-leaf coreopsis, butterfly milkweed, gaillardia, Russian sage, stonecrop, and ox-eye daisy. You can use it with daylilies, hollyhock and aster, as well.
To balance the scale of black-eyed Susans, you can even interplant them with Hosta, or (as they are often used in roadside plantings) plant them with ornamental grasses such as variegated maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis 'Variegatus') in drifts. You can even plant them as borders around your rose garden.
Some gardeners plant black-eyed Susan in their vegetable gardens, not only for visual interest, but to attract pollinators useful for vegetable growth.
To make a tea, add 5 teaspoons of the dried root to a cup of boiling water and steep for a few minutes then strain the tea to remove the irritating hairs.
Suggested Varieties
Milkweed: Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
$1.00 - $5.60
Butterfly Weed, one of the most striking of native plants, lights up the prairies with its blazing orange flowers. It thrives in rocky or sandy soil, typically in open fields or along roadsides. One of its common names, pleurisy root, refers to an old remedy for lung ailments that contained this plant. At one time, the silk from this plant’s seed pods was spun for fabric or used for stuffing pillows; in World War II, school children gathered the silk to provide a cheap filling for soldiers’ life jackets. Commercial attempts to make use of this abundant plant included the manufacture of paper, fabric, lubricant, fuel, and rubber; eventually these became impractical and were abandoned. Though this plant is toxic to most animals, butterflies are immune to the plant’s poison and actually become rather poisonous themselves as protection from predators.
Coneflower: Purple (Echinacea purpurea)
$1.00 - $5.60
All the members of the Echinacea genus are native to North America, though they are becoming more rare in the wild. The genus name Echinacea comes from the Greek word for “hedgehog,” referring to the spiny seed head of the flower. Historically, this family of plants has been extensively used by Native American tribes and early settlers because of its beneficial medicinal properties. Echinacea acts as a natural antibiotic, and improves the function of the immune system; it became very popular in the medical field in the early twentieth century, particularly after the extensive researches of the German Dr. Gerhard Madaus. Echinacea is still widely used as an herbal remedy, as well as being a common and well-loved addition to perennial gardens and prairie plantings.
Aster: Powder Puff Mix (Callistephus chinensis)
$1.00 - $5.60
This fall-blooming beauty, though a member of the Aster family, more closely resembles the chrysanthemum; its unique characteristics have made it the only member of the Callistephus genus. As the name suggests, it originates in China. China Asters are widely grown throughout many countries for commercial use in the cut flower industry. The common name of “aster” comes from the ancient Greek, meaning “star” in reference to the flower’s brightness and shape.
Aster: Tall Pompon Blue Moon (Callistephus chinensis)
$1.00 - $5.60
This eye catching aster has a dark to light blue center and white outer rim pompoms that are 2 to 3 inches wide. It reaches the height of 20 inches tall and is used as a flower border throughout the summer. This aster is exceptional as a cut flower and has a long vase-life indoors.