Rudbeckia Varieties

USDA Zones 3 and 4

• Rudbeckia fulgida "City Garden" is a cultivar of the black-eyed Susan suitable for USDA zones 3 and 4. The perennial grows to 12 inches, blooms during July through September and is more compact than its parent species. Used in small areas, it works well in city gardens as its name suggests, and along foundations and in containers. Early Bird Gold is another black-eyed Susan for colder zones, spreading slowly as it develops new growth from its roots. This type blooms into October. It prefers full sun and flowers best when planted there, a trait of this genus.

USDA Zone 5 and 6

• Rudbeckia subtomentosa "Henry Eilers" grows to 5 feet high in zones 5 and 6, with yellow petals resembling quills arranged about a brown center disc. Henry Eilers blooms in late summer through the middle of fall. Henry Eilers is a great fit in cottage, prairie and wildflower gardens. The large coneflower, Rudbeckia maxima, grows to 7 feet tall as a native plant in the central and southern states. Plant it in naturalized areas, where birds such as the goldfinch will devour its seeds once it finishes blooming in July, states the Missouri Botanical Garden.

USDA Zone 7 and 8

• The Missouri coneflower, Rudbeckia missouriensis, develops colonies where room exists and conditions are right. This plant, adaptable to USDA zones 7 and 8, is between 2 and 3 feet high, featuring hairy stems and yellow and brown flowers that look like daisies. Missouri coneflower blooms for as long as five months, beginning in June. Between six and 12 yellow rays surround the purple-brown center of the brown-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia triloba. This native plant grows wild from New England west to Minnesota and south to Georgia, averaging between 2 and 3 feet tall. It differs mainly from its black-eyed cousin by having smaller flowers, but more of them.

USDA Zones 9 and 10

• Little Goldstar is a knee-high black-eyed Susan form for zones 9 and 10, with its clumps featuring green foliage and flowers up to 2 ½ inches across. Little Goldstar blooms profusely; Perennial Resource relates that some individual plants have as many as 80 flowers. It makes a fine container plant, blooming midsummer to early autumn. Rudbeckia fulgida var. fulgida is a late bloomer. It flowers in August and it hits its best strides in September. Its yellow petals drop cleanly away from the center discs when blooming ends, leaving you with an interesting-looking plant as fall becomes colder. Use it in cottage gardens and on patios for fall color.