Black Eyed Susan is a beautiful, great selling perennial that is super easy to grow and super easy to propagate.
Several years ago I planted about 20 in a bed and for the past several years we dig up about 5 clumps, tear those clumps into pretty small pieces, pot them up and in a matter of weeks people are paying $6.97 each for them.
And I still have plenty more to dig and divide!
Dividing them is as easy as pie. We simply set the clump on The Wrap Around Potting Station, shake off as much soil as we can, and start tearing the clump apart. Each piece that we pot up is probably no bigger than your little finger. This spring I’ll have to shoot a video and add it to this page.
I really need to do this with a lot more perennials, it’s just too darn easy.
Black Eyed Susan is a sun loving perennial that is both heat and drought tolerant. It’s also a great pollinator attracting bees and butterflies. They are hardy in zones 3 through 7. They grow about 2′ tall and each clump will get about 2′ wide.
There are several varieties of Rudebeckia and most are similar, some have smaller blooms but I’ve seen one called Cherry Brandy Black Eyed Susan that is on my “Must Have” list.
Questions, comments, mean things to say? Just post them below and I will respond.
Mike,
I have had the cherry Brandy. They did not do as well as others. In fact, I dont even think they came back the next year.
Hi, Mike! How do you keep your Black-Eyed-Susan bed weeded? Do you use mulch? If so, what kind? Thank you!
Karen,
We do mulch that bed but usually with just free wood chips from tree trimmers and it’s not really a good mulch. But the plants are pretty tight in the bed and keep the weeds at at bay.
Do you have a red maple tree that is really true red always, and how much is it?
Right now I have one right now. Pixie $149. https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/acer-palmatum-pixie
DearMike:
this flower,black eyed susan is the same that we (in Peru,south hemisphery ) knows and call as ‘girasol’ or ‘sunflower’
thanks by your guide.
Greetings
Hugh
These are beautiful, but the kind I have (I think it’s the standard run-of-the-mill one) requires some work to keep them in one area. They reseed abundantly, so be careful where you plant them if you don’t want to work at keeping them contained.
About five years ago, my daughter gifted me a bag of wildflower seeds. Those seeds yielded dozens of Black-Eyed Susans, yellow Coreopsis, and pink Echinacea Coneflowers. They continue to multiply and come back every year. I highly recommend them.
I got some seed for Black-eyed Susan. It says on the package, “short-lived perennial. Lives only about 3 years.” Is that your experience?
Terry,
Truth be told that’s kinda the case with a lot of perennials but I’ve not experienced that with these. But most perennials if you dig them up and divide them every few years they do far better.
What time of year do you divide them?
Keith,
Early spring is the ideal time to divide Black Eyed Susans.
I love black-eyed susans. Do they grow in sunny California? I live in So. Calif. and I don’t know if they will grow here,
Gloria,
That’s a good question, they are pretty darn tough in the sun. Do they sell them at local garden stores? That would tell you.
Mike, blackeyed susans come up volunteer here in north San Diego County.. They certainly do well in this climate about halfway between beach and desert. They appear after spring rains.
I live on the southern coast of Maine. Two years ago, a variety of black eyed susan made it’s way into my yard and they were double and triple headed. It was amazing. I saved seeds but none came back last year. Do you have any idea what kind they are? I saw nothing like it in my neighborhood.
Robyn,
I have no idea and the fact that they did not come back makes them sound like some kind of an annual flower.
I love them because they are one of the few flowers that thrive later in the summer. I planted mine from seed. Are there any more flowers like it that actually do well in the mid to late summer?
Jay,
A lot of perennials bloom later in the summer, cone flowers for sure as well as lots of others.
Jay,
Japanese anemones bloom later in the summer. It’s a perennial but the greens are beautiful until the flowers bloom. I have white and pink blooms. I use the cut flowers in vases wit( other flowers. They spread a lot also. I have dug up many clumps and given them to a few freinds.
I only garden a little but so enjoy reading and learning. thanks and by all means stay inspired:) Marty
I am already on your email list. Please do not in any way share my info. I trust you don’t.
Marty,
Been at this 20 years online and have never shared an email address yet.
Is the black eyed susan I grow in my garden the same black eyed susan I see in the wild?
Cindy,
I’d say similar. There are many varieties.
Thanks! I am enjoying your youtube channel
Looking forward to the video!
We’re gearing up to put our first real plots in at the new place and I’ve been considering growing these. Thanks for all the great content!
Every time i divide my black eye Susans the look limp afterwards for days? Then i pull them out thinking i killed them.
Cathy,
Do them while still dormant, not during the growing season.