black-eyed susan
Rudbeckia hirta
RHS AGM 2020
USDA zones3 to 9
SunHandles full sun to partial sun
WaterHandles dry to moist soil
Size2 to 4 feet tall12 to 24 inches wide
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Habit
- Herb
- Bloom season
- Spring, summer, autumn
- Bloom color
- Yellow
- Foliage color
- Green
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) is an annual for borders, cut flowers, pollinator gardens, and meadows. This plant likes full or part sun and dry to moist, sandy, loamy, or clay soil. Its yellow flowers last a long time. If it is happy, it may act like a perennial. Fritillary butterflies visit the blooms. It sits low on the menu for deer.
Pairs well with Little bluestem, Butterfly milkweed, Magnus coneflower, and Nodding onion.
Native range
AL, AR, CA, CO, and 43 more places. See all 47
AL, AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY; PE, and SK.