It's mid August and you know what that means in a mid south garden

 Golden yellow flowers are everywhere.

Yes, it's composite time! Most of the yellow daisy like flowers in my garden are blooming or beginning to bloom. They excel in the sun and brighten the shadier parts of my garden.

Rudbeckia laciniata

When you garden in the middle south you learn to plant and appreciate these rough and tumble golden yellow beauties. Especially in our hot and dry summers.

The yellow composites keep this garden floriferous when the Phloxes are beginning to look puny, the Joes have faded and the ex-asters haven't broken into song. 

Rudbeckia hirta cultivar

"Some gardeners are snooty about yellow. I used to be one of them." wrote Carol Klein in an article about growing Rudbeckias.

I didn't need to learn to appreciate yellow or the Rudbeckias,  I am crazy about the entire genus! They're my go to late summer flowers. They're reliable, easy to grow, low maintenance and with the many different species to choose from, you can have flowers from June to frost.

Rudbeckia fulgida are notorious for spreading both vegetatively and by seed

More importantly, they don't fade or melt in the intense sunlight. 

Let's talk about sun light for a bit. Our sun isn't brighter in the south, it just feels that way because the angle of the sun strikes the earth more directly here (and other southern cities) than cities in the north. The closer you get to the Equator the more directly the sun strikes the earth.  I think this affects how we experience colors and frankly, we need intense colors to deal with the sun light.

 

 Does that mean we get stuck with yellow composites! I don't feel that way! I love them all, even the rambunctious ones and R fulgida var sullivanti is a thug!

I don't hold that against her, it was entirely my fault she practically took over the front garden.  She could plow down the best of plants and she did.  Now there's a kind of detente among the Rudbeckias and the other take care of themselves colonizing wildflowers! Editing is the key...and some years I do better than others! This is not a bad year.

Rudbeckia subtomentosa 'Henry Eilers' is a special Susan! It's not very aggressive and needs protection from its cousin. If you're not crazy about some of the golden yellows, you might want to give this one a try. The yellow flowers  are the same golden yellow, but, their rolled/quilled petals dim down the brightness and make this beauty shine.

 The statuesque Rudbeckia laciniata is a Clay and Limestone rough and tumble wildflower beauty that is tolerant of our hot and humid weather, but, it definitely needs an extra drink of water during our dry summer months. Clusters of showy daisy-like flower heads top the plant from late July to fall in my garden (Central South/Middle Tennessee, Zone 6b/7a). It's a favorite of the little bees.

RFvF might be my favorite of the Susans. The little bees love them, too.

Another Rudbeckia beauty is Rudbeckia fulgida var fulgida. Please don't confuse it with Miss Goldie. Trust me when I say that this Susan is choice, with smaller flowers on tall straight stems, shiny green foliage and a longer bloom time than Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm'.  It's never been planted in the front garden, but, I think I've found the best spot~where Ms. Goldy won't over run it.

Rudbeckia triloba. It's a bushy, free-flowering annual/biennial that self sows as aggressively as Miss Goldie! Plant it where it can naturalize and pull the seedlings that have planted themselves where you don't want them. The daisy-like, golden-yellow flowers bloom on purplish stems from late summer to early fall and this plant can take the dry weather, although, it is much happier when they have regular rainfall.

These are the Rudbeckias blooming in my garden now, I treasure them all. Please, don't be like some gardeners and poo-poo the golden yellow flowers of summer. Embrace them, welcome them into your garden and celebrate all that they offer, you'll be happier and so will the pollinators and birds.

xoxogail

“How wonderful yellow is. It stands for the sun." Vincent Van Gogh

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.

Wildflower Wednesday: Cutleaf coneflower

Welcome to Clay and Limestone on a hot, humid sunny August day! Our Wildflower Wednesday star, Rudbeckia laciniata, is blooming and the smallest bees are feasting on the nectar and pollen.

Cutleaf coneflower grows 3-9 ft. tall

Cutleaf coneflower is a native clump forming perennial with upright stems. The leaves are large, dark green and deeply lobed. Clusters of showy daisy-like flower heads top the plant from late July to fall in my garden (Central South/Middle Tennessee, Zone 6b/7a)

Each head consists of a yellow-green globe shaped cone surrounded by drooping yellow rays. It's a rhizomatous plant and thrives in partly shaded sites with moist or wet fertile soils.

 The statuesque Rudbeckia is a Clay and Limestone rough and tumble wildflower beauty that is tolerant of our hot and humid weather, but it needs an extra drink of water during our droughty summer months. 

 It's blossoms attract a variety of pollinators~bees, flies,

 beneficial wasps, butterflies,

Do you see the crab spider hiding on the back side of the cone?

skippers and moths.

 Caterpillars of Silvery Checkerspot Butterflies forage on the foliage and seeds are sometimes eaten by goldfinches.

tall stems make this a good plant for back of the border

The particulars
Rudbeckia laciniata
Common Name: Cutleaf coneflower, Green headed Coneflower, 

Type: Herbaceous perennial

Family: Asteraceae

Native Range: North America (click on map to enlarge)

Zone: 3 to 9

Height: 3.00 to 9.00 feet

Spread: 1.50 to 3.00 feet (or more)

Bloom Time: July to September

Bloom Description: Yellow rays and green center disks

Sun: Full sun to part shade

Water: Medium, not xeric

Maintenance: Medium, this plant spreads so you will need to edit/divide. Dead head plant for continued bloom

Flower: Golden yellow

Wildlife value: Butterflies, small and large bees.  Leave Seedheads standing for Chickadees. A good plant for Monarch butterflies especially if you are on their migration/flyway trail (click on map to enlarge)

Deer don't browse cutleaf coneflower

Prefers average, medium to moist soils in part to full sun. Tolerates hot, humid summers, but is not drought tolerant.
Propagation: Divisions from a friend, potted plants from native plant nurseries or seed. Seeds will need moist, cold stratification unless planted in the fall.

The Joes are a good companion plant for Cutleaf coneflower

 Companion plants: I love it with Phlox paniculata 'Jeana', Vernonia, Joe-Pye weed and taller Panicums. The leaves are a nice contrast to Baptisias and Thermopsis, just make sure there's good drainage for companion plants that don't like wet feet.

Comments: Spreads by rhizomes, so give it room to grow. Outstanding in mass plantings, as a back-of-the-border perennial, for streambanks and pond edges and in meadow, prairie, naturalistic and cutting gardens. It does best in full sun, but tolerates light shade.   

I have a deep appreciate for all the Rudbeckias and find the intense golden yellows not only attractive, but important additions to our garden. They bloom from late summer to frost; their saturated warm colors don't get washed out by our intense summer sun; they're easy to grow, they look fantastic with other late blooming rough and tumble wildflowers, they're excellent cut flowers and are important food and nectar source for wildlife.  Cutleaf coneflowers are a valuable late season nectar source for migrating monarchs.

So give them a try, you won't be disappointed.
xoxogail

Wildflower Wednesday is about sharing wildflowers all over this great big beautiful world. It doesn't matter if we sometimes show the same plants, how they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most. I hope you join the celebration...It's always the fourth Wednesday of the month!



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.