(Rudbeckia hirta 'Black-Eyed Susan')
Black-Eyed Susan is a native tender perennial flower commonly found growing in fields, woods, prairies, and along roadsides throughout the eastern United States. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 1-3' and features 3-7” hairy lance-shaped leaves, 3” daisy-like flowers with orange to yellow petals, and a brown dome center. This plant attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, tolerates drought and light frost, is resistant to deer, self-sows, and is used as a cut flower!
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General Information
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Soil Preparation
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Germination
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Seedlings
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Crop Care
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Harvesting
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Seed Saving
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Companion Planting
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Uses
Genus: Rudbeckia
Species: hirta
Variety: Black-Eyed Susan
Also Known As: Yellow Ox-eye Daisy
Native to: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia.
Introduced into: Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Irkutsk, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Krym, Kuril Is., Myanmar, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Primorye, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, West Siberia, Yugoslavia.
Ease of Growing: Easy
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: 3-7” hairy lance-shaped leaves, 3” daisy-like flowers that have orange to yellow petals and a brown dome center.
USDA Grow Zone: 4a-10b
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.
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
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.
Suggested Varieties
(Asclepias tuberosa ‘Butterfly Weed’)
Butterfly Weed Milkweed is a native perennial flower that grows in prairies, open woods, fields, and along roadsides throughout most of the United States. When mature, this plant can grow up to 2-3'. It is characterized by hairy, upright stems, lance-shaped leaves, and striking clusters of orangish-yellow flowers on top. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees, butterflies, and ladybugs, is resistant to deer, tolerates drought, self-sows, and has medicinal properties!
(Echinacea purpurea ‘Purple’)
Only a few left!
Purple Coneflower is a native perennial flower that naturally grows in moist meadows, woods, and prairies throughout the central and eastern United States. At maturity, this plant reaches a height of 2-4' and features stiff stems, narrow hairy leaves, and 3-4” flower heads with drooping purplish pink petals and a spiny orange center cone. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, provides bird forage, tolerates drought and frost, has medicinal uses, is resistant to deer, and is used as a cut flower!
(Callistephus chinensis ‘Powder Puff Mix’)
Powder Puff China Aster is a cool-weather, fall-blooming annual flower native to China. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 2' and features serrated, 2-3” pointed leaves and fragrant 4-6” double blossoms in varying shades of pink, white, red, and purple-blue with pale yellow centers. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees, birds, lacewings, hoverflies, and praying mantis, is deer resistant, self-sows, and is used as a cut flower!
(Callistephus chinensis ‘Tall Pompon Blue Moon’)
Tall Pompon Blue Moon Aster is a cool-weather annual native to China but can be found growing on the edges of deciduous forests in the northeastern United States. At maturity, this plant reaches a height of 20” and features 2-3” wide dark blue disk-shaped flowers that are white in the center. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees, birds, lacewings, hoverflies, and praying mantis, is deer resistant, self-sows, and is used as a cut flower!