Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima)

Description

About This Plant

Black-eyed Susans attract tons of bees and birds and are easy to grow, making them a great beginner plant. The yellow flowers are great at attracting tons of short-tongued bees like sweat bees and longhorn bees. It also makes plenty of seed that feeds birds like the American goldfinch. It’s an extremely versatile plant that can be spread by seed. It forms bright yellow flowers that stand about 4 ft tall. The color pairs perfectly with light purple flowers like wild bergamot

This plant adapts to many soils, loves full sun, tolerates drought, and works great in pollinator gardens or container gardens that bring in tons of sweat bees and longhorn bees. In the garden, it’s excellent for filling empty spaces, grouping together, or growing in containers. If you plan to grow it in containers, adding some bone meal will help it flower. Treat this species more like an annual; its lifecycle can vary wildly, but it usually lives about 1 to 3 years.