Rudbeckia

There aren't many plants thriving in this intense heat and drought. Tragically, we have trees dying every day. But Rudbeckia is tough, and provided with adequate (not heavy) water, it will bloom like crazy, even in this awful Texas summer.

Above is the most common variety of Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia Goldsturm. It happily grows in dry or boggy soil, needs little care and makes a great cut flower. Actually, all the Rudbeckias hold up well as cut flowers.

This is Sharon's favorite member of the family: R. Herbstonne, also known as Autumn Sun. In mid-summer the flower stalks shoot up 5 or 6 feet tall and these sunny yellow flowers with green cones open to about 3 inches wide.

Sharon likes the foliage of this plant, which makes a 12-inch tall groundcover. The jagged foliage looks attractive for months, until it goes dormant in winter.

 The photo above shows a Rudbeckia variety that is not a hardy perennial like Goldsturm and Herbstonne. "Cherokee Sunset" should be grown as an annual' but like other annuals, it has a long season of bloom. The bi-tone flowers appear in late May and last through the summer and fall.

Here we have it planted in front of Bog Sage, red Monarda and Pretoria cannas. This was a great combination.

The Rudbeckia in our header now is Denver Daisy, a big award winner the last few years. It is shorter than a lot of the other Rudbeckias.