Home of the Practically Perfect Pink Phlox and other native plants for pollinators

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

A Choice Later Blooming Susan

I am a here and now person and Rudbeckia fulgida var fulgida is my blooming here and now favorite!
I wish that you could see it's charms in person,  it's not just another orange coneflower!
If you've chanced upon it in a local native nursery and passed it by as just another Susan, let me disabuse you of that notion!

Trust me when I say that this Susan is choice, with smaller flowers on tall straight stems, shiny green foliage and a longer bloom than Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm'.

Plant this Susan with meadow and prairie plants like the ex-asters, Amsonia hubrichtii, and native grasses for a lovely late summer early fall display.
She's a petite flower on a tall stem.Like other rudbeckias
Like other Rudbeckias, this plant has good wildlife value, pollen for bumbles and little bees, nectar for butterflies from late summer through frost and seeds in the winter for birds. The tall stems and cones make a pretty winter picture in a snowy garden.

One more thing that may help tip the scale towards your adding this pretty to your garden~it's going strong while my R 'Goldsturm' is browning up!

xoxogail

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

16 comments:

  1. These beautiful flower is one of my favorite rudbeckias....too cute!

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  2. I wonder if it reproduces as much as tribola? Pretty.

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  3. Nice information on that plant. I have lots of the larger Rudbeckias. It is great time of year for all of them. Jack

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  4. A Rudbeckia with cute, petite flowers? Very nice! Honestly I have trouble finding a Rudbeckia I don't like, though - they have such cheerful flowers and are so nice and hardy!

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  5. I love Rudbeckias and grow 'Goldsturm', you are right, its just starting to look less than best. I have two annual Rudbeckias, Rustic Dwarf and Goldilocks and a very tall Rudbeckia lacinata the former going strong and the latter just opening. I like your choice though Gail, great with the grass and Amsonia too.

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  6. I love the idea of a petite Sunan. Lovely. Tomorrow I am posting a photo of my 'roadside weeds' bouquet. I wish I could have named the asters and Susans that I used. IDs can be so difficult.

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  7. Beautiful photographs! Such happy warm colors to go with the end of summer : )

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  8. You may not remember, but when I first started blogging, I didn't have a single Susan in my garden. After seeing all your wonderful photos of them, I finally planted a few...and the rest is history, as they say:) I don't have any Rudbeckia fulgida yet, but I do have a few other kinds of Rudbeckia, and I agree you must have several kinds. The later ones have been blooming like crazy for the past month and are such a welcome sight when so many other blooms are fading.

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  9. Gorgeous photos...Big fan of Rudbeckia. You really did a nice job.

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  10. This is a great rudbeckia. I got one at the NC Botanical Garden a couple of years ago but lost it over the winter. I need to try it again!

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  11. I confess, I have walked by that one. You know how I feel about school bus yellow but they are cheery plants and coordinate well with the seasonal travel of the aforementioned bus.

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  12. Very pretty!
    Have a wonderful day!
    Lea

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  13. Thanks for the flower heads up! I love Rudbeckia but have never had luck with 'Goldsturm.' Last year I planted my first R. maxima to great success, but I'll keep an eye out for this smaller one.

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  14. My mother grows Goldsturm, they are so beautiful lining the walkway to her front door. Thanks for reminding me.

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  15. Hmmm, I like the sounds of this. Does it have a common name that would make it easier to find?

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