PlantFiles: Black-Eyed Susan, Orange Coneflower
Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm'

I planted these bare root divisions in April. By July they are approximately 2 feet tall and bushy, with blooms. The leaves stay spotty and the blooms are small. The blooms just don't have a lot of punch for the size of the foliage (which is huge). I have ripped them out and plan to find something more showy that can earn its keep better.

black eyed susan comes in many varieties and in alot of places grows as a wildflower as it does here in new england, you have to be picky about what variety you are purchasing as many will give a few small and ratty looking flowers and are not really worth putting in your garden.....they will also overseed alot onto your lawn (what a nightmare).
I tried a few plants before i found one i actually liked.
So far this variety is showing nice flowers and keeping to the garden, but i also keep up with deadheading asap.
Wtih as many that are availble as wildflowers on the side of the road- makes me think that some nursuries are selling those wildflowers?!?

help please, I planted about 15 bare root black eyed susan in May 2007, only 2 sprouted, but no flowers. Will any of the others come up next year? I wrote the nursery I got these from and they are shipping me some more. It is now November and we are getting frost and set for some snow. What can I do with the bare roots to protect them through the winter? Plus I am being shipped some daylilly bulbs.

I would love this plant but I have had continual problems with fungal leaf spot disease. This is the only flower in my garden that seems to succumb to this fungal disease in my garden, despite my best attempts to erradicate it and plant Goldsturm in sunnier locations.

Thrives in my very dry soil and the flowers are huge - at least 5 inches across. Self sows a bit but not invasively. Blooms for several weeks from late summer into fall.

I don't know why but I love this flower. When it is in bloom I see it everywhere on the side of the roads. Wonderful wildflower.

I placed this in a part sun - part shady spot and it did pretty well. However, I had to be very mindful to water it regularly or it starts to wilt. We'll see how it does in its second year. It makes for nice cut flowers.

Although I love this plant, I have had recent problems with Angular Leaf Spot forming on the leaves. I have had to take 5 plants back to the nursery. There seems to be no solution to this disease. The best to do is obtain a different cultivar of rudbeckia.

When it grows well, it's a fantastic and beautiful plant.

I've just moved to this area, after spending 55 plus years of living and growing flowers and veggies in Fl. I'm having a bit of an info. overload when it comes to what will grow and survive the Winters and the growing conditions as well as the soil here in my new area. The Black eyed Susan is one of the plants that I see growing and prospering as I drive through the new area. It is definitely one of the plants that I will add to my new growing areas. Belle P. Patrick, SC.

I was given a clump of these from my mother-in-law's garden when I established my own here in zone 5. I planted in full sun in moist but well drained soil. They continue to florish as they have for 7 years in the same location. Last spring I transplanted a clump from my original patch to another area of the garden and they appeared to take off just as well. No real care other than to cut down and remove dead foliage in late fall.

Grows in sun to partial shade, actually. Very vigorous grower and yet has a somewhat compact habit. Seeds attract birds and flowers attract butterflies. It will not tolerate soggy soils.

From paghat.com... The variant that became 'Goldsturm' was first noticed by Heinrich Hagemann in 1937 while visiting a Czecklosovakian nursery, where he spotted & purchased an unusually bright specimen of R. fulgida var. sullivantii. Bringing this find to his German employer Karl Foerster, it was propogated as a unique strain, & in 1949 entered the nursery trade under the name 'Goldsturm,' which means "Golden Storm."

A striking plant that seems to have no drawbacks at all. Grows about 3 ft. tall and blooms for a long time.

I like the way this plant self sews. I started with a few I purchased from a nursery. They are growing and spreading in full sun mid-day; partial sun morning and afternoon. They are on a slightly sloped bank, so get good drainage. They seem to be very drought tolerant. To propagate by seed is challenging though, as their seed are very small and there is a lot of chafe. But the young self-sewn starts transplant well.

this is one of the plants i started with as a new gardener. she grows beautifully, can tolerate drier conditions once established. i have moved, cutback, transplanted, mailed and given away a lot of goldstrum. i have her in full sun and part sun where she thrives. i put some into a dappled shade condition this past spring and she got flowers, but didn't thrive as elsewhere.
i had planted it next to some foxgloves and the slugs ate all the foxgloves but one and did not touch the black-eyed susan.
she is a beautiful flower that looks good in a single clump, lined up along a driveway, or in a mass planting.

Great plant in the Midwest (U.S.); with the use of MiracleGro will reach plant heights of 5-6 feet.

Great wild flower: variable petal sizes, good grower, nice flowers.