The Main Plant entry for Black Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia)

Definitely one of my favorite flowers. Years ago my garden received its first Rudbeckia hirta. I'm not sure which variety came first; it performed well, and to my delight some of the originals survived that winter. The following spring I noted quite a few new seedlings and ascertained it was a self-seeder. The winter before that spring, I'd started a couple of different varieties under lights in the basement, subsequently transplanting them into the garden, where they (and the few survivors and their offspring) again made a most favorable impression on me. The next season, I started yet another variety or two and translocated those new plants in amongst the ones already in the garden. This was probably the first time I noted some of the self-seeded ones weren't necessarily like their parents in form or bloom. Some of these new forms displayed distinguishable characteristics of different parental lines on the same plant! I concluded the original varieties were getting crossed naturally and their offspring would inevitability present different characteristics. The originals planted in those formulative gardening years were Cherokee Sunset, Green Eyes, Prairie Sun, Chim Chiminee, and Irish Eyes.
Every season thereafter has found me in a state of eager anticipation as to what new presentations I would discover where the 'Rudy's' grow. Every year since, something new has blessed my visual palette. Some are amazingly beautiful, some downright bizarre, but always something new. I'll post some of my favorites here so that you may enjoy their unique manifestations yourself.

To assure a decent return, I've stopped mulching that area of the garden. Unmulched ground produces a higher seedling-return ratio.
A couple of years ago I introduced a new variety into the mix, Cherry Brandy, and I have started to see some of its characteristics assimilated into these 'self-crossed' mixes' offspring.

(Actually, my first photo (photographed 6-27-11) above illustrates what I just described).

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Black-eyed susan is a common reseeder in my garden. I never know where the next plant might pop up. There are many fancy varieties available at the nurseries, but no matter which type I try, they all seem to reseed to the old-fashioned single yellow variety. No matter, as that is my favorite anyway.

Rita on the north shore of Long Island, New York zone 6/7, where it is humid during our Long Island summers.

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This genus is composed of about 15 species of annuals, biennials, and perennials native to North America of the Composite or Aster Family. The name comes from being named after Olof Rudbeck, a Swedish botanist who lived from 1630 to 1702.

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"Rudbeckia hirta, black-eyed Susan, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the central United States. It is one of a number of plants with the common name black-eyed Susan. Other common names for this plant include: brown-eyed Susan, brown Betty, gloriosa daisy, golden Jerusalem, Poorland daisy, yellow daisy, and yellow ox-eye daisy.

It is an upright annual (sometimes biennial or perennial) growing 12–39 inches tall by 12–18 inches wide. It has alternate, mostly basal leaves 10–18 cm long, covered by coarse hair, with stout branching stems and daisy-like, composite flowers appearing in late summer and early autumn. In the species, the flowers are up to 4 inches in diameter, with yellow ray-florets circling conspicuous brown or black, dome-shaped disc-florets. However, extensive breeding has produced a range of sizes and colours, including oranges, reds and browns.

Butterflies are attracted to Rudbeckia hirta when planted in large color-masses."

Taken from wikipedia's page at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R...

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Over 40 years ago, before I got married and left my parents' home, I went to a nursery and saw Rudbeckia for the first time. I bought several,plants and took them home for my parents' garden. My dad did not like them...he thought they looked like sunflowers, which to him were weeds. He planted them and they began to naturalize around his yard. He grew to love them because they are so willing. The ones in my garden are descendants of those original plants. Each year they move around my garden, but they are always welcome because they provide color during those hot summer days. Mine are single, double, yellow, and yellow with different eye patterns. Love them with Echinaceas, which also naturalize in my yard.

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Regarding perennial vs annual:
I would characterize most Rudbeckias as short-time perennials best treated as annuals. Most have the ability to return in following years, but in my experience they seldom do. The reason for that here is climate variability. If you live in an area that is subject to freezes and thaws, some plants are very susceptible to heaving. Rudbeckia is such a plant. Root exposure to the elements can cause a plant's demise.
That said, it should be noted that a couple of varieties of Rudbeckia can be viewed as perennial border essentials as they reliably return (and usually expand) year after year. Prime example of the reliable kind is Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm.' Another is R. nitida 'Herbstsonne.'
Rudbeckia hirta are the non-reliable species. However, R. hirta do self-seed easily. Different varieties of R. hirta can easily cross, which may manifest, in the subsequent season's display, unique characteristics from both cultivars in the same plant.

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