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Rudbeckia triloba |
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Common name |
brown-eyed susan |
Family |
asteraceae |
Life cycle |
biennial |
Flowers |
yellow/brown (late summer-fall) |
Size |
3-4' |
Light |
sun |
Cultural notes |
ordinary garden soil |
From seed  |
Give about six weeks cold, then move to room temperature for more germination. detailed seed-starting info below
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Seed ripens | mid-October |
Masses of yellow daisies with brown centers make this a late-season garden standout. We bought it last year as a perennial, but learned later that it usually behaves as a biennial. I'm not sure if the plant pictured was a returning remnant of the original plant, or a quick-to-bloom seedling. Either way, we hope to establish a permanent stand in our garden.
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| The leaf way at the bottom shows the reason for the species name - the basal leaves have three lobes |
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| Another year, a big crop of seedlings - color explosion! |
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We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston. Seed for this plant is included on my seed trade list One or more images of this plant are included in my stock photo catalog About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Rudbeckia triloba
Visitors to this page have left the following commentsJanet DG | May 12, 2006 | I love this plant! It does well with very little sunlight, although it does prefer a full-sun exposure. |
Julie F/Philadelphia | Aug 21, 2008 | I came upon your Web site by looking up a plant I wanted to know about. I'm totally in awe!!! Regarding the Rudbeckia triloba, it's a lovely plant and much nicer than the thugish, invasive black-eyed susan. Although this plant appeared in my garden all on its own. So, I suspect it has the invasive qualities of its cousin. |
Pat W, Mn | Nov 25, 2008 | I had two plants this year from seed in 07. They are spectacular. Never saw a plant with 100's of blooms for almost two months. We'll have to see if it makes it to year 3 in my Z4 garden. I recommend this guy for a stand out display in Aug-Sep. Rudbeckia triloba is a biennial, so your current plants probably won't be back this year. They self-seed very well for us, so their offspring will most likely be back for a repeat show! |
kelleyRN | Sep 07, 2009 | these re seed themselves all over the place. the deer also love to eat them so that keeps them in control. |
Kathy | Apr 02, 2010 | This is a wonderful plant. The first year it forms a little rosette and the second year it blooms like crazy. I let it self seed. My original seed for this was passed on to me 20 years ago. This year I purchased seeds for a "Red Sport" from Everwilde Farms. I hope it will turn out as nice as the original. |
Dan | Apr 30, 2010 | I bought a house in Feb. of 09, and last summer I had 4 of these plants pop up. See no sign of them yet this year. Can anyone tell me what the seedlings look like? I do see 3 odd little brown "rosette" things that look sort of like hens snd chickens. I live in Milwaukee so maybe it's too early to expect them back. I love this plant. |
whisperingsage | Jul 05, 2010 | I am looking for invasive weed species that are nontoxic and would be good in goat and sheep pasture as forage. I live in the Great Basin, high desert, very cold in winter, very dry and droughty in summer. Short growing season (last frost in May) We are 4100 feet elevation. Foxtails do well here, unfortunately the goats don't like them. So I must remove them by hand. |
Simon MARTIN | Aug 17, 2010 | I live in France (Rhône Valley - South East - 300 feet elevation - Tp minus -7°C 19.4F Maxi 42 °C 108F), and I have each year a lot of Rudbeckia triloba in my garden. it does not fear dryness and summer is dryness here... it blooms from July 15 to October or November... Ok, I like this plant and my mother too! (she is 86 year old)She have also this plant from more than 30 years... may be, that I help them a litle bit to grow,because I throw seed (bobble dry)into the garden every fall(where I want new flowers next yaer... Thank for you site! Best regards; Simon MARTIN (martin.simon@wanadoo.fr) |
Angie C. | Aug 12, 2013 | In October 2008 I picked some dried seed heads from some Rudbeckia Triloba I saw in our local woods. I stored them until I remembered them and out of curiosity planted some of the seeds in pots 4 years later in 2012 and believe it or not 3 germinated! I now have a lovely large plant covered in blooms in my front flower bed! Just wondering how usual it is for 'old' seeds like these were to actually grow and flower? I find it amazing! Seeds for many plant species stay viable for years – sometimes decades or centuries! I agree that's amazing :-) |
Angie C. | Aug 17, 2013 | I'd like to try and germinate more of the seeds---can I plant them now in pots and nurture them inside over the winter then put them out in the Spring? I'd love to try as I'm fascinated that the seeds sprouted after 4 years and wonder how well they would do if planted inside---that is, if any more do actually sprout! These are hardy plants – there isn't much benefit to taking them inside over the winter, since they likely need their dormant period to develop properly. You can sow seeds into outdoor pots and leave them out over winter. Less work, and you'll get plants just the same. |
Scott | May 15, 2018 | So, as a biennial, does that mean the plant doesn't even grow in year 2?....then returns year 3, then year 5, 7. ....etc? Ideally I would plant flowering plants 2 years in a row to get flowers every year...right?
Thank you for your excellent web page! Biennials use their first year to grow a strong base, then bloom in their second year, set seed, and die. So yes, if you start generations in two successive years, and allow plants to self-seed, you'll have flowers every year. Rudbeckia triloba did come up from seed freely for me, but that may depend on your climate and gardening style (how you weed, mulch, water, etc.) |
- Seed for 'Prairie Glow' from '09 trade. Baggy 35F (36%G, 4-6w) - 70F (34%G, 3-7d)
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Last modified:
February 14, 2010
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