Summer Staple, State Flower: Black-eyed Susans

So many types.

Black-eyed Susan and Hover Fly

Black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia fulgida) are a gold mine of a flower during a dry summer like this one. With all due respect to the flower’s status as the Maryland State flower, I took it for granted. I don't know why because it grows in full sun and part shade, is not particular about soil types, requires virtually no care, has a long bloom time and birds love the seed heads.  This year it literally saved my summer gardening season! With many perennials having gone dormant when the heat wave hit and others succumbing to a buck that apparently is visiting every evening, my garden is looking dry and sparse except for those rudbeckias!

I have several different varieties but no longer know which is which. When I saw this excellent blog post "Which Rudbeckia is Right for You" by North Creek Nurseries, it not only helped me figure out which plants were which, I also knew I needed to share it. With this advice, we can have black-eyed susans blooming from July through October. Pretty great stuff. 

North Creek Nurseries, if you don’t know it, is a Pennsylvania wholesale grower and supplier of a wide variety of native plants. While the Nursery doesn’t sell to retail customers, the Nursery website is a wealth of extremely useful information. The native plant list provides excellent profile information about many, many native plants and the newsletter, the Plug adds even more detailed information.

unidentified

R. subtomentosa 'Henry Eilers'

R. laciniata

Eleven types of black-eyed susans are detailed in the blog post and a helpful chart with bloom times is included. These rudbeckias are types commonly available at both native plant nurseries and garden centers.  If you are looking to maximize ecological value of your plant choices, you will want to select varieties grown from seed or open pollinated as opposed to vegetative propagation, also noted on the chart. My rudimentary understanding is propagating by vegetative cutting reduces the genetic diversity of plants – never a good thing.

A twelfth type, woodland black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta) is also commonly for sale. It is a short lived perennial, often living for just two seasons and reseeding. I grow this in my garden and love it. It pops up in different places each year. That can be a plus or a minus, depending on what you want.

planted with blue hyssop

arranged with blue mist flower

growing with phlox

From a design standpoint, if the bright yellow color is too strong for you, planting these next to blue or lavender flowers that bloom during the same time, such as blue hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) or blue mist flower (Conoclinium coelestinum) brings down the color temperature. On the other hand, if color is for you, planting black-eyed susans with phlox creates a vibrant palette. So many possibilities.

summer

winter

Whatever you choose, the goldfinches will thank you!

Happy gardening.