Landscape Spotlight: Black-Eyed Susan, Rudbeckia Hirta

The Black-Eyed Susan is one of the most recognizable wildflowers in the landscape and is a North American Native.  While these flowers are often seen in the wild along roadside America or blanketing vast open fields, they are a terrific flower to include in your home’s landscaping plan!

As a member of the sunflower family, and closely resembling a daisy, this yellow-petal flower gets its name from the brown cone center of the flower head, or the “black eye”.  This plant can grow over 3 feet tall with flower diameters reaching 2-3 inches!  As a sheer favorite for butterflies, hummingbirds and bees buzzing around looking for nectar, these flying insects move from one flower to another, pollinating as they go.  This pollination action causes fruits and seeds to grow which will blow away in the wind to grow and bloom again in a new location.

Thriving in full sun to partial shade and having a tolerance for most soils, its needs register high on the low-maintenance scale, however, when first introducing these flowers in your landscape, they will require ample amounts of water until they are established.  Once the roots have taken hold, they will become drought tolerant for the rest of their life cycle.  Considered to be an annual plant, it isn’t uncommon for them to be biennial, meaning they will produce into a second year before dying away.

With a bloom cycle from June to August, possibly September, their golden faces stand out in the crowd, yet seemingly compliment the surrounding landscape.  Being the perfect accent flower to most perennials, these flowers especially flatter shrubs and trees with its vibrant color balancing the rich green of the background foliage.  When the flower petals finally fall away for the season, the black “eyes” stay intact, adding architectural and vertical interest to the fall landscape; making it a full circle kind of flower!

• – Did you know? –
  * Black-Eyed Susans are the perfect cut-flower, with a vase life of up to 10 days! *
  * The black and gold color combination of the Black-Eyed Susan was inspiration in 1912 for the University of Southern Mississippi’s school colors! *
  * The Black-Eyed Susan is the state flower of Maryland! *
  * The Black-Eyed Susan is meant to symbolize justice! *

So when thinking of adding pops of color to your landscape or garden, consider adding a pool of sunshine by planting Black-Eyed Susans en masse! Not sure what to do with the rest of the backyard?  Have ideas but can’t seem to make sense of them all?  Reach out to MasterPLAN to talk about the full potential for your property.  We are ready to turn your outdoor living dreams into your reality!