Rudbeckia triloba, better known as Brown Eyed Susan is a late summer showstopper that is actually a Missouri native annual. She has such an easy going nature that she sometimes behaves like a biennial or even a short-lived perennial, but regardless of how she does it she has becomes a mainstay in a meadow garden and roadside areas. She has many attributes that makes her “cultivated green space worthy” if she receives minimal to average care.
She grows and blooms best when she is planted in average or moist well-drained soils in full sun. Normally she reaches only 2-3 “in height, she makes up for her petite size with flower ability. Although the flowers are small the are so many, she stands out in the middle of the border. She tolerates our fluctuating wet dry conditions and dry clay, as long as her feet don’t stay wet!
She also can tolerate light shade near the base of trees. In natural conditions, she is a frequently resident of our woodland edges. If the shade thickens, and she needs more light -she moves. If she is kept in too shady of conditions she might not be as strong or produce as many flowers. .
Her casual grace and a bushy habit are just natural. She also can appreciate an annual grooming of light sheering mid-spring like most late summer-fall blooming perennials. .
Remove her spent flowers to encourage more blooms but leave last least a few flowers to allow for some self-seeding. Volunteers are generally welcomed, but any excess is easily removed with cultivation in late spring.
She is distinguishable from her sister Black-eyed Susan by having even more but smaller flowers.
She is healthy as well as hardy with no significant insect or disease issues. Occasionally she catches a light case of powdery mildew. It does not affect her performance and a report of this being an issue is minimal. Watch for slugs and snails on young plants. She makes an attractive, long-lived cut flower too!
She grows and blooms best when she is planted in average or moist well-drained soils in full sun. Normally she reaches only 2-3 “in height, she makes up for her petite size with flower ability. Although the flowers are small the are so many, she stands out in the middle of the border. She tolerates our fluctuating wet dry conditions and dry clay, as long as her feet don’t stay wet!
She also can tolerate light shade near the base of trees. In natural conditions, she is a frequently resident of our woodland edges. If the shade thickens, and she needs more light -she moves. If she is kept in too shady of conditions she might not be as strong or produce as many flowers. .
Her casual grace and a bushy habit are just natural. She also can appreciate an annual grooming of light sheering mid-spring like most late summer-fall blooming perennials. .
Remove her spent flowers to encourage more blooms but leave last least a few flowers to allow for some self-seeding. Volunteers are generally welcomed, but any excess is easily removed with cultivation in late spring.
She is distinguishable from her sister Black-eyed Susan by having even more but smaller flowers.
She is healthy as well as hardy with no significant insect or disease issues. Occasionally she catches a light case of powdery mildew. It does not affect her performance and a report of this being an issue is minimal. Watch for slugs and snails on young plants. She makes an attractive, long-lived cut flower too!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment