No garden is complete without at least one rudbeckia. The ubiquitous, perennial Rudbeckia fulgida and annual/biennial Rudbeckia hirta are the only species that most people know. We hope to change that by offering lesser-known Rudbeckia species such as the 7' tall, powder-blue-leaved, Rudbeckia maxima.
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Rudbeckia is a tough summer-flowering perennial wildflower that likes sun, heat, and humidity. Where happy, Rudbeckia spreads into a slowly widening clump that gets more floriferous each year. Rudbeckia flowers attract butterflies and the seed heads are a favorite of goldfinches. Some species are moisture lovers, and some are drought-tolerant. These are definitely "gotta have it" plants for the perennial garden. When you are ready to buy rudbeckia plants for your perennial garden, check out our list of rudbeckias for sale below.
Since 1988, Plant Delights Nursery has been the choice of serious gardeners and plant collectors looking for the best and rarest perennial plants. We are pleased to have received the Perennial Plant Association Retail Award in 2011, the American Horticulture Society Commercial Award in 2002, and to have been selected as one of the Best Mail Order Plant Sources - Garden Design Magazine 2010. Welcome to our family of plant lovers!
This overlooked drought-tolerant native can be found from Arkansas to Texas, growing in seasonally moist roadside ditches alongside old tires, beer cans, and cigarette butts. The research into whether the abundance of motor oil in these sites is actually essential for plant growth has been inconclusive. This unique black-eyed Susan has a deciduous basal rosette of waxy blue foliage resembling a collard (that's sort of like a cabbage to you northern folks). In late spring through early summer, the flower stalks rise to over 7' tall. At the top of each stalk are 2-3" wide, brown-centered, yellow daisies...WOW! After flowering, we leave the seed stalks as a delicacy for goldfinches. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
We are pleased to introduce a new gold-foliaged selection of the native Rudbeckia maxima, a seedling of a Cherokee County Texas plant, discovered by Texas plantsman, Greg Grant and named after his great aunt. Rudbeckia 'Golda Emanis' is brightest gold as it emerges in spring and fades to more of a chartreuse green as it gets closer to flowering...best color is on established clumps in bright sun. The 2' wide clumps are topped in mid-June (NC) with 7' tall spikes of yellow-orange coneflowers...a goldfinch delicacy. The foliage will create a wonderful color echo with the goldfinches. Moist soils are best, but not essential. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Here's a rare US native plant that you're not likely to run into at your neighborhood garden center. Rudbeckia auriculata is endemic to a small region in southeastern Alabama and a small population in both adjacent Florida and Georgia. Our plants are cutting/seed grown from a population in Webster County Georgia. Rudbeckia auriculata grows alongside pitcher plants in moist, sunny sites, but can also be found in alkaline seeps. In the garden, Rudbeckia auriculata grows fine for us in typical garden soils where it produces 6' tall, joe pye weed-like stalks that branch toward the top. The branches are then topped with clusters of 2-3" golden orange flowers in August and September. In rich soils, Rudbeckia auriculata can lean like the Tower of Pisa, so it's best used at the back of the border, where it can find support as needed. A percentage from each plant sold goes to the Atlanta Botanic Garden for habitat preservation. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
(syn: Rudbeckia chapmanii) Rudbeckia fulgida var. umbrosa is another wonderful, easy-to-grow native perennial that is almost non-existent in horticulture. Native from the Carolinas west to Missouri, Rudbeckia fulgida var. umbrosa can be found in low, damp woodlands. In our garden, we have found it equally adapable on dry sand in full sun on unirrigated banks. Our five-year-old patch has spread to 4' wide, composed of fuzzy green basal foliage that gives rise in late summer to 30" tall branched stalks of 2" golden orange daisies...just wonderful! Our offerings are from Washington County, Missouri plants thanks to the Shaw Nature Reserve. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
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