Rudbeckia Triloba - Brown-eyed Susan

Five crowns of this brown-eyed Susan planted about a foot apart in a zig-zag pattern  form a nice mass of frothy flowers.

With hundreds of blooms per stem, there is no reason not to have triloba in your garden. A reliable self-seeder, this native rudbeckia is a hardy short-lived perennial in zone 4. Allow seedlings to germinate and weed out or share the extra. Continuously bloom for nearly eight weeks without deadheading, this plant also looks good in early winter and provides seeds for birds and other small creatures. The flowers are smaller. but much more numerous than hirta, lacinata, or nitidia. It does not suffer from mildew as some rudbeckias do.

In August, first year seedlings look a lot like cone flowers that did not bloom with a hearty rosette of leaves. Triloba meaning "three-lobed", is a reminder of the identifying leaf form on mature plants. Seed can germinate from the previous year, throughout the summer, so there can be a lot of variability in plants. Early September is the best time to move seedlings, although they can be moved in the spring but show a noticeable difference in size and stamina throughout the growing season. I do not recommend moving flowering specimens as they are just as apt to die as transplant. They are moderately drought resistant. They tend to grow 3' high, but with sufficient watering can grow much taller.

They are deer resistant and attract pollinators.