How to Grow Rudbeckia: Black-Eyed Susan Growing Tips

Learn how to grow rudbeckia, a low-maintenance flower recognizable for its vibrant yellow and orange petals with a striking black center. Rudbeckias are easy to grow and care for, making them a perfect choice for those new to gardening or looking for a hassle-free addition to their garden. I love planting rudbeckia at the end of my raised beds to attract beneficial insects, pollinators, and butterflies.

What is Rudbeckia?

Rudbeckia is the botanical name for the upright daisy-like flowers commonly called black-eyed Susans. Most have bright yellow, orange, bronze, red, or bicolor petals surrounding a dark center cone. They’re part of the Asteraceae family and are native to North America.

Rudbeckia is a hardy plant that can also thrive in cooler temperatures. In addition, it can withstand light frost, making rudbeckia a good choice for gardens in cooler climates.

My Experience Growing Rudbeckia in Arizona

Rudbeckia has been a surprisingly resilient flower in my low desert garden, but timing makes a big difference. The best plants I’ve grown are started from seed indoors and planted outside in late October or November. If I get lucky and find transplants in the fall, those work too.

Fall-planted rudbeckia doesn’t seem to do much at first, but that’s the point. The plants settle in, develop a strong root system, and often spread a little through the cooler months. As temperatures warm in spring, the stems get longer, buds begin forming, and by mid to late May the plants really take off.

June is usually prime rudbeckia month in my garden. The first flush of blooms is gorgeous, with lush, full plants and strong stems. Beneficial insects love them too. I often see praying mantises, assassin bugs, and other beneficial insects using the plants.

After the first flush, I harvest or deadhead the blooms to encourage more flowers. Plants grown in raised beds are usually larger for me, but rudbeckia can also grow in rougher, rockier soil and sometimes reseeds from dropped seed. The plants don’t always last deep into summer in my yard, especially when they’re surrounded by rock or planted in hotter areas. In my garden, I treat many rudbeckia varieties more like cool-season annuals that bloom through June or early July. Some survive, some reseed, and some are finished when the real summer heat settles in.

Do Black-Eyed Susans Come Back Every Year? Annual Rudbeckia vs. Perennial

Whether black-eyed Susans come back every year depends on the type of rudbeckia you’re growing and your climate.

The varieties I usually grow, including Cherokee Sunset, Cherry Brandy, and Chim Chiminee, are Rudbeckia hirta types. Rudbeckia hirta can behave as an annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial. In my low desert garden.

Some plants do survive. Some reseed. Some are finished once the real summer heat settles in. Location matters. Plants with afternoon shade, good drainage, and less reflected heat have a better chance than plants surrounded by rock or planted in hotter parts of the yard.

Other types, such as Rudbeckia fulgida, are more reliably perennial in many climates. That doesn’t always mean they’ll behave the same way in the low desert, but it’s a better type to look for if your main goal is a perennial black-eyed Susan.

Rudbeckia vs. Black-eyed Susan vine

Rudbeckia and black-eyed Susan vine are not the same plant, even though the common names are similar.

Rudbeckia is the upright daisy-like flower commonly called black-eyed Susan. Black-eyed Susan vine is Thunbergia alata, a twining vine with trumpet-shaped flowers that grows on a trellis, fence, or support.

If your looking a climbing vine instead, read my guide on how to grow black-eyed Susan vine.

Rudbeckia varieties to try:

The rudbeckia varieties I grow most often are Rudbeckia hirta types. These give me the most interesting flowers for the garden and bouquets, but in the low desert I grow them with the expectation that they may act more like annuals than long-lived perennials.

• Cherokee Sunset Mix: Tall cutting variety with large, double, bicolor flowers. 
• Cherry Brandy: Red variety available from seed. 
• Chim Chiminee Mix: Rust tones with large flower heads and quilled petals. 
• Denver Daisy: Large yellow blooms with red centers and unique coloring. 
• Indian Summer: Large blooms with yellow petals and black centers. 
• Black-Eyed Susan: Heirloom, native wildflower blooms for 8 weeks or more.

Because they grow well in similar conditions, gomphrena can be a good companion plant for rudbeckia in warm-season flower plantings. Poppies are another flower I like to grow during the cooler season when I’m planning for spring blooms.

• Learn how to grow gomphrena and how to grow poppies in these guides.
  

When to plant rudbeckia:

In many climates, rudbeckia can be planted in spring after the danger of frost has passed, or direct sown when conditions are warm enough for germination. Specifically, once the soil warms to 70°F (21°C).

In the low desert of Arizona, I get the best plants from fall planting. I usually start seeds indoors in late summer or early fall, then transplant young plants outside in late October or November. Fall-planted rudbeckia has time to settle in, develop roots, and grow slowly through the cooler months before blooming in late spring.

• For low desert planting dates, use my flower planting guide to time rudbeckia and other seasonal flowers.
• Rudbeckia is one of those flowers that rewards a little planning, and I include more options in this list of easy flowers to grow from seed.

Choose the right location to plant black-eyed Susans: 

In many climates, rudbeckia grows well in full sun. In the low desert, I don’t plant it in all-day blasting sun if I can avoid it. Morning sun with afternoon shade is a better choice, especially once temperatures climb.

Rudbeckia can handle heat better than many flowers once established, but that doesn’t mean it wants reflected heat, rock mulch, or a hot west-facing exposure in Arizona. My best plants get enough sun to bloom well but have some protection from the harshest afternoon heat.

My soil is alkaline, like most Arizona soils, and rudbeckia still grows well for me when planted in amended, well-draining soil. I don’t try to change the pH for rudbeckia. Instead, I focus on improving the soil with compost and worm castings, which helps with soil structure, moisture management, soil life, and nutrient availability.

Plants grown in my raised beds are usually larger and fuller, but rudbeckia can also grow in rougher, rockier soil. The plants just don’t tend to last as long into summer for me when they’re surrounded by rock or planted in hotter areas of the yard.

How to plant rudbeckia: 

Start annual or biennial types from seed. Divide perennial cultivars in the spring or fall. 

Cold-moist stratify seeds 3-4 weeks before starting the seeds indoors or oudoors if planting in warm climates (not always necessary, but can aid in germination/flowering).

To plant rudbeckia seeds in the garden, wait until the soil warms to 70°F (21°C). Then, lightly cover the seeds with soil and keep them moist until they germinate. 

Start indoors 6-8 weeks before planting outside. Learn how to start seeds indoors with the basic supplies and steps I use for more reliable fall planting.

How to Start Rudbeckia Seeds Indoors:

1. Step 1: Plant the seeds in seed starting mix. Surface sow or barely cover the seeds (remember they are small), then press them into the soil to ensure good seed-to-soil contact.

2. Step 2: Keep the soil consistently moist until germination.

3. Step 3: Harden off seedlings before planting them outside. Plant seedlings outdoors once they are 3-5” tall.

4. Step 4: Plant rudbeckia transplants at the same level as in the nursery pot. Ensure good seed-to-soil contact and water well.

Rudbeckia tips for cut flowers:

Rudbeckia makes a beautiful cut flower, especially varieties like Cherokee Sunset, Cherry Brandy, and Chim Chiminee. Harvest when the flowers are just beginning to open for the best vase life. Make the first cut at ground level above 3-4 side shoots. Then, remove all foliage below the flower.

Expect about 7 to 10 days in the vase with good post-harvest care. Rudbeckia can be a “dirty flower,” meaning its stems can quickly make the water cloudy. Use clean buckets, remove leaves below the water line, use floral preservative, and consider a CVBN tablet or a small amount of bleach in the water to help keep bacteria under control.

If you’re growing rudbeckia for bouquets, you may also enjoy my guide on how to grow, harvest, and arrange cut flowers.

End-of-season care for rudbeckia plants:

At the end of the season, decide whether to clean up the plants, save seed, or let them reseed. In my low desert garden, some plants make it, some reseed, and some are finished once the heat settles in.

If a plant survives into fall and looks healthy, you can cut it back to about 6 inches from the ground and divide it if needed. This will help encourage new growth the following year. Rudbeckia is an ideal plant for a wildflower garden if allowed to reseed. 

If you want rudbeckia to reseed, leave a few flowers on the plant until the petals dry and the seed heads turn brown. Clip the seed heads and let them dry in a paper sack. The seeds are in the center cone of the flower.

Learn what rudbeckia seedlings look like so you don’t pull them by mistake. Reseeding is hit or miss, but it’s one of the reasons I like leaving a few seed heads in place.

Frequently Asked Questions About Growing Rudbeckia