For a sunny bed with a long stretch of yellow flowers, consider black-eyed Susan. This post is about Rudbeckia fulgida, a clump-forming perennial with dark-centered flowers. The named selection ‘Goldsturm’ was recognized as a Perennial Plant of the Year in 1999. Check the plant label when you shop: plants sold under the common name black-eyed Susan are not all the same.
Plant for a broad patch of color
Several plants together make more of a show than one tucked between larger shrubs. This rudbeckia can send up many flowering stalks, with blooms from around June into September. The exact start and finish will vary with the weather and the site. Give the clumps space to fill out rather than planting them tightly for an instant effect. Our guide to beginning perennials has more on building a bed around plants that return year after year.
Water new plants, then watch for dry spells
Water regularly through the first growing season while roots establish. Once settled, the plants may manage with normal rainfall, but a drought is another matter. Flowering can fall off when the plants get very dry. Feel the soil before watering and pay attention to wilting rather than assuming every bed needs the same schedule. If your bed dries quickly, it is worth checking the soil itself; soil basics is a place to start.
Decide what to do with the seed heads
Leave some spent flowers standing if you enjoy watching goldfinches feed on the seeds. Butterflies may visit the flowers too. Seedlings may appear nearby the following spring, though how many you get will vary. Move young plants to another suitable sunny spot if you want them, or thin them where they crowd a path. Established clumps can also be divided when they become too large for their space. If you want a different kind of flower to carry color elsewhere in the garden, see how annuals fill gaps.
