Rudbeckia triloba

Sizes available: Landscape plug

Basics: zones 3-9, up to 5' tall x 1-3', full to part sun, numerous 1 inch wide flowers of yellow rays surrounding a dark brown disk bloom in late summer to early fall, likes medium wet to medium dry soils, but is quite accommodating once established and not picky as to soil type

Common names: Brown-eyed Susan, Three-lobed Rudbeckia

Family: Asteraceae

Origin/Distribution: Native from New York to Georgia and parts of Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Oklahoma. According to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, it is establishing itself northeastward.

Habitat: damp, open woodland, roadsides, the base of rocky slopes, alluvial thickets (I have not found it requiring this much moisture and it is interesting that sites like this are typically at least partial shade, yet sources call for full sun to grow well. I will definitely test its limits and keep you posted)

More: Rudbeckia triloba is a short-lived perennial/biennial that will definitely seed around the place if happy, but since it's an excellent cut flower, its seedy habits can be kept in bounds through making bouquets. Its tall, elegant branching structure and numerous small daisy flowers are a beautiful foil for grasses and a great scale change when used in combination with larger-flowered Rudbeckias either in flower arrangements or in the border. Deer resistant and attractive to pollinators.

Nursery: Landscape plugs from North Creek

Image credits: Wikimedia Commons