The bright yellow petals and dark centers of black-eyed Susans can brighten any garden like a splash of sunshine. Want to learn how to grow these cheery flowers in your garden? In this in-depth growing guide, we will answer all of your questions about black-eyed Susans, including what they are, where they grow, when they bloom, and how to plant and care for them.
Jump to:
- What Are Black-Eyed Susans?
- Black-Eyed Susan Basics
- Why Grow Black-Eyed Susans?
- Recommended Black-Eyed Susan Flower Varieties
- Where Do Black-Eyed Susans Grow?
- When Do Black-Eyed Susans Bloom?
- When to Plant Black-Eyed Susans
- Ideal Growing Conditions for Black-Eyed Susans
- How to Plant Black-Eyed Susans
- How to Transplant Black-Eyed Susans
- How Far Apart Should You Plant Black-Eyed Susans?
- How Much Water Do Black-Eyed Susans Need?
- How to Care for Black-Eyed Susans
- What is Best to Plant with Black-Eyed Susans?
- Frequently Asked Questions About Growing Black-Eyed Susans
- Where to Buy Black-Eyed Susans
What Are Black-Eyed Susans?
Black-eyed Susans belong to the Asteraceae family, and have the scientific name Rudbeckia hirta. They may be perennials or annuals.
Thee plants may also be called by a variety of other common names. These additional names include brown-eyed Susan, yellow daisy, brown betty, yellow ox-eye daisy, English bull’s eye, golden Jerusalem, and gloriosa daisy.
Black-Eyed Susan Basics
| Zones: | 3-9 |
| Blooming season: | Summer and fall |
| Expected height: | Varies (around 18 inches for some plants, up to 10 feet tall for others—around 2-3 feet is typical for many varieties) |
| Soil: | Moist, well-drained |
| Sun: | Partial to full |
Why Grow Black-Eyed Susans?
Bold color. If you want to add warm, sunny hues to your garden beds, black-eyed Susans can transform your lawn in a breathtaking, dramatic way.
Low-maintenance. The amount of effort you need to make to take care of your black-eyed Susans should be pretty minimal. These plants are pretty hardy as well, and can thrive in a broad range of conditions. They do well in a variety of soils and are drought-resistant.
Incredible variety. As you will discover in the next section, these gorgeous daisy-like blooms come in a variety of sizes, colors, and even shapes. Whatever look you want to bring to your garden, black-eyed Susans can help you achieve it.
Deer-resistant. Tired of deer eating everything you plant? They probably will not take any interest in your black-eyed Susans.
Winter interest. Black-eyed Susan cones can continue to look appealing during the winter in your garden. The cones or the blooms can also be lovely in flower arrangements.
Attractive to beneficial insects. The University of Maryland Extension (UME) writes, “Black-eyed Susans are easy to grow and will attract many pollinators to your garden. The dark center or eye of the flower head holds 250 to 500 individual flowers, and to pollinators, each one of these is a shallow nectar cup. These are shallow enough that even small wasps and flies can drink from them, and many small wasps and flies are predators or parasitoids of pest insects.”
Bring butterflies to your garden. If you want to enjoy the dazzling display of butterflies, black-eyed Susans can bring skippers, monarchs, and more.
Birds like black-eyed Susans as well—specifically the seeds. So, do not remove all the seeded heads if you want birds to show up.
Recommended Black-Eyed Susan Flower Varieties
Some varieties of black-eyed Susans that grow in different regions include:
Rudbeckia hirta var. angustifolia
Rudbeckia hirta var. floridana
Rudbeckia hirta var. hirta
Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima
As you might expect, the floridana variety is found in Florida. The angustifolia variety is found throughout the southeastern and south central US, while the hirta variety is found in the eastern part of the US. Throughout North America, you will find the pulcherrima variety. Black-eyed Susans are the state flower of Maryland.
Some cultivars to consider include:
Sonora: This type of black-eyed Susan is renowned for its vibrant yellow blooms.
Becky Mixed: Did you know that black-eyed Susans are not always yellow? They can feature orange petals, brownish petals, and red petals too. If you want a nice spectrum, go with the “Becky Mixed” black-eyed Susans.
Toto: Dwarf varieties of black-eyed Susans also exist, such as the “Toto” variety. These compact plants are ideal if you have limited space.
Indian Summer Rudbeckia: If you want really big black-eyed Susans in your garden, consider this variety, that produces flowers as wide as 9 inches across.
Rudbeckia hirta Moreno: This variety of Susans includes petals that are brownish-reddish in the middle and then fade to yellow at the tips.
Prairie Sun Rudbeckia: If you want to enjoy 5-inch wide gold flowers, prairie sun black-eyed Susans are a nice option. Whereas most Susans feature a black or brown center, this variety includes a green center. The petals also feature a distinctive shape.
Irish Eyes Rudbeckia: Similar to the prairie sun variety, this variety of Susans features green centers.
Maya Rudbeckia: If you want Susans that actually look more like marigolds in some respects, consider this unique variety. The centers are initially green, but darken later. Rather than one row of large petals, there are multiple layers of numerous small petals, creating a rounded shape to the blossoms.
Cherokee Sunset Rudbeckia: This type of Susans grows up to three feet tall, and features flowers that are dark in the center with yellow or orange tips.
Cappuccino Rudbeckia: Want your Susans to blossom early in the season? One excellent option is the Cappuccino Rudbeckia, which features brown centers and long, dramatic petals that are reddish in the middle and more yellow toward the tips.
Cherry Brandy Rudbeckia: Whereas most black-eyed Susans feature at least some yellow, these flowers are entirely red with brown centers.
Rudbeckia laciniata: Also known as “cut-leaf coneflower,” this variety of Susans is quite unique. It produces stalks that may be up to 10 feet tall, each of which can feature up to 25 flowers. The yellow blossoms have a fluffy, dramatic look.
Little Goldstar Rudbeckia: Want tons of flowers from just one plant? The Little Goldstar low-growing variety of Susans can offer you a whole constellation of yellow flowers with dark centers. Plant a single seed, and look forward to dozens of tightly-packed blooms.
Henry Eilers Rudbeckia: If you are looking for a relatively tall variety of Susans, the Henry Eilers Rudbeckia can reach up to 5 feet tall. You will love the eye-catching flowers, which feature dark centers and slender yellow petals. Indeed, they arguably look even more like stars than Little Goldstar Susans.
Keep in mind that black-eyed Susans can be perennials, annuals, or biennials. So, check the cultivar you are considering and make sure it is what you want!
Don’t see the variety you want as a bedding plant at your local nursery? Try checking seed packets. You may find what you are looking for there. If you cannot locate the variety you want at a local store, you can always order it online.
Where Do Black-Eyed Susans Grow?
These yellow flowers are native to the central and eastern parts of North America (including Canada and the US), and now also can be found growing in western North America. The plant has been brought to China as well.
When Do Black-Eyed Susans Bloom?
Black-eyed Susans typically bloom during summer and fall, starting as early as July and lasting until frost begins to form.
If you want black-eyed Susans to bloom for longer, you can deadhead them (more on that later).
Want your black-eyed Susans to bloom as early as mid-to-late spring? You can try planting a cultivar like the one called “Early Bird Gold.”
How Long Do Black-Eyed Susans Bloom?
You can expect to enjoy these daisy-like flowers for weeks after they start to bloom, making for a long-lasting display in your garden.
When to Plant Black-Eyed Susans
There are two ways you can purchase and grow black-eyed Susans:
- From the seed.
- As a bedding plant.
We recommend you go with the seeds. You can plant them in the ground when the soil temperature gets warm enough in spring or early summer, around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. It is even okay to plant them in your flower bed early in autumn.
Alternately, if you prefer, you can start them earlier indoors, and then transfer them to your garden later.
What you do not want to do is try to plant them when the weather is heating up too much or cooling off too much. Their root systems will not develop properly if the temperature is too extreme.
After you plant the seeds, you can expect them to germinate in anywhere from one week to one month.
Ideal Growing Conditions for Black-Eyed Susans
Now that you know when you can plant black-eyed Susans, let’s talk about where to plant these golden flowers.
How Much Sun Do Black-Eyed Susans Need?
Black-eyed Susans will grow best if you can find a spot for them in full sunlight. But if you can’t, never fear—they can thrive in partial shade if they need to.
What Type of Soil is Right for Black-Eyed Susans?
Moist, fertile, well-drained soil is best for black-eyed Susans. While it is good to keep the soil moist, however, you do not want it to go too far. Soil that is too wet or that includes standing water may increase the chances of mold.
In fact, you should not pack them in too densely with other plants in your summer garden if your climate is muggy, for just the same reason. In a dry climate, you do not need to be as concerned.
How to Plant Black-Eyed Susans
When the soil temperature is suitable, follow the steps below to plant your black-eyed Susans.
For a Bedding Plant
1. Weed your soil if you haven’t already, and make sure it is not too densely packed.
2. Dig a hole in the soil. It should be wide enough to accommodate your black-eyed Susan, with a couple extra inches to spare.
3. Insert the plant. Fill in the soil, patting it down (but do not compact it too much).
4. Water the plant.
For a Seed Starting Outdoors
1. Weed your soil in preparation for planting, and loosen it.
2. Push each seed down into the dirt. It does not need to be deep. In fact, it should be relatively close to the surface.
3. Keep an eye on your soil. If you notice it drying out, add enough water to make it moist, but not soggy.
You can stop watering your plants regularly after they have had a chance to develop their root systems.
For a Seed Starting Indoors
6-8 weeks before your expected last frost for the season, start your black-eyed Susans indoors.
1. Prior to planting, you should keep them in your refrigerator. They need to be stored with sphagnum moss inside a plastic bag. Make sure the moss is moist, but not soggy. Check on the seeds periodically to see if you need to add more moisture.
2. One 3-inch starter pot should be able to handle 2 black-eyed Susan seeds. Each should be filled with a mixture of potting soil, medium-grit sand, and perlite, in a 4:1:1 ratio.
3. Just as you would if you were starting the seeds outdoors, you need to push them gently into the soil. Once again, make sure that they are relatively close to the surface.
4. Get a spray bottle that can produce a fine mist and spray the top of the soil. This will settle it, and also ensure that the seeds have moist conditions in which to germinate.
5. Your seeds are going to need plenty of sunlight—6 hours of direct sun per day at a minimum, if possible. If you do not have a window that is suitable for providing this kind of sunlight, you can use fluorescent plant lights. Just as you would outdoors, you want the soil temperature to be around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. So, use a propagation mat if necessary to raise the temperature to this level.
6. Keep an eye on the pots, checking the dampness of the soil on a regular basis. If you find the soil is getting dry, you can spray it again. If you cover the pots with plastic wrap, you can help them retain the moisture for longer. But you do not want them to be completely airtight, or there could be an unwanted build-up of condensation.
7. Once your seeds sprout, you should take off the plastic wrap.
8. The reason you planted two seedlings in each pot was just to give yourself two chances at a strong plant. You will now need to thin them out so that only the most viable seedling remains in each pot. After thinning the seedlings out, continue to water the remaining seedlings if the soil is drying out.
9. Now it is time to transplant the seedlings (see below).
How to Transplant Black-Eyed Susans
If you are transplanting a seedling you started indoors …
It should be safe to transplant your black-eyed Susans once the soil temperature outdoors is around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The final frost of the year should be 1-2 weeks behind you.
If you are transplanting black-eyed Susans to move them …
Every 3-4 years or so, you will want to divide your mature black-eyed Susans and move them.
Dividing and moving black-eyed Susans helps to prevent overcrowding in your garden.
The best time to take care of this chore is in either spring or autumn. You should avoid doing it too late in the fall, however, as harsh weather may cause them to struggle to establish themselves in their new locations.
How do you divide black-eyed Susans? Using the drip line for your plant as a guide, dig down with a spade, and then pull out the plant. You will need to cut some of the roots to do this.
If the plant has any unhealthy sections, you can cut those away with your spade. Then, divide what remains into several sections.
As you prepare to transplant the new, smaller black-eyed Susan sections, you will need to protect their roots. You can do this by grabbing a bucket, putting them inside, and then putting a damp newspaper on top. Keep the bucket in the shade to reduce evaporation. Check on them periodically to make sure they are not drying out. Otherwise, you may have to soak the roots.
Dig a new hole in your garden for each of the sections. The hole should be big enough that the roots can fit with a little extra space to spare.
Fill the soil in around the roots carefully, patting it down, but not compacting it too much. Water each of the transplanted Susans. Check to make sure the soil remains moist over the coming weeks. You may need to keep watering them while they establish themselves.
How Far Apart Should You Plant Black-Eyed Susans?
For most black-eyed Susan perennial varieties, planting your seeds 18-30 inches apart is appropriate.
What about annuals? For those, you only need around 6-12 inches of space. The same is true for dwarf varieties of Susans.
How Much Water Do Black-Eyed Susans Need?
Many popular wildflowers are relatively low-maintenance plants, and black-eyed Susans are no exception.
Watering black-eyed Susans is most important when you are planting or transplanting them and their roots are establishing.
Be mindful that you do not over-water. The soil should be moist, but if it is soggy or not draining properly, it will be bad for your black-eyed Susans.
After a few weeks, the roots should be established enough that you no longer need to water the plants often.
In fact, while it is best if the soil remains moist, even if it dries out a little, your Susans will probably be okay since they are relatively drought-resistant. But you shouldn’t let hot, dry conditions go on for too long. You should water them after a few days go by if nature doesn’t do it for you.
Making the extra effort will not only help to keep your plants healthier, but also provide you with a longer bloom period.
How to Care for Black-Eyed Susans
We have talked about watering, dividing, and transplanting black-eyed Susans. Is there anything else you should know about caring for these sunny flowers?
These yellow flowers are almost maintenance-free. But below, we discuss a few other care topics of interest: fertilizing, mulching, staking, deadheading, and pruning.
How to Fertilize Black-Eyed Susans
Dealing with poor soil conditions? Black-eyed Susans are pretty tolerant of poor soil, but you may need to apply some slow-acting granular fertilizer to provide them with ample nourishment. Do this once a year during the springtime.
How to Mulch Black-Eyed Susans
Obviously you cannot cover your outdoor soil with plastic wrap to hold in moisture like you can do with seedlings in pots indoors. But one thing you can do to help lock moisture in is apply some mulch around your black-eyed Susans.
Mulching can help compensate for poor soil as well by adding nutrients, and offers some additional protection around shallow roots. Around 2-3 inches is all you need.
How to Stake Black-Eyed Susans
Are your black-eyed Susans getting too heavy? If you notice them collapsing, you can go ahead and stake them to keep them upright. Wire supports or bamboo sticks both make good choices for staking. You can attach the plants to their supports with string.
If staking is no longer sufficient to prop up your black-eyed Susans, it is probably dividing time, as discussed previously.
When to Cut Back Black-Eyed Susans
To encourage fresh growth of your black-eyed Susans, you can trim them. The right time to do this is when you see wilting blooms during summer.
You will also need to prune your black-eyed Susans again later in the fall following the first frost.
How to Prune Black-Eyed Susans
During summer, to coax your plants into blooming again after the blossoms fade, look for the highest leaf on each stem. Snip the stem ¼ inch above it.
Cutting back your black-eyed Susans in the autumn is not so different, even though your goal is different. The plant will not bloom again that season. But once more, look for the highest leaves, and cut the stems right above them.
Not all of the leaves will still be green. Remove the dead ones. This is also a good time to take care of mulching for winter.
Don’t like the look of the stems during the winter? If you want, you can cut them away. But you shouldn’t cut closer than 2 inches from the soil. This also may be helpful if your plant has caught a disease.
How to Deadhead Black-Eyed Susans
Trimming back your black-eyed Susans is only one way you can help them to produce more blossoms. Another option is to deadhead them.
What is deadheading? When you see a blossom that is beginning to wilt, it is ready to go to seed. You can stop it from doing so by removing it. You do not need shears or a knife for this. You can just use your fingers.
By stopping the flower from going to seed, you encourage your black-eyed Susan plant to try making more flowers in order to seed. So, you can get more blossoms, and a longer period of blooming.
The process of deadheading is fast and easy, especially if you turn it into a habit. It is a great way to spend a little extra time enjoying your garden, and it will result in more dramatic black-eyed Susans.
What is Best to Plant with Black-Eyed Susans?
There are a lot of great companion plant options for black-eyed Susans. Here are a few to consider:
Daylily: Many people enjoy pairing daylilies with black-eyed Susans since they will be in bloom at the same time during midsummer. Additionally, the pink, orange and red colors of the lilies look great next to the yellow of the black-eyed Susans.
Marigold: With their fluffy orange, yellow and red blossoms, marigolds are a sunny complement to black-eyed Susans, while adding textural interest. As a bonus, aphids are not fond of marigolds because of their odor. Marigolds are not necessarily aphid-proof, but they can be considered aphid-resistant. So, putting them next to your black-eyed Susans may help deter these unwanted pests.
Aster: Asters and black-eyed Susans are both flowers that can bloom late in the season, which makes them go well together. The purple color of asters contrasts vividly with the yellow of black-eyed Susans, while the yellow centers of the former bring out the petals of the latter.
Those are just a few suggestions. Other companion plants that may go well with black-eyed Susans include lavender, blanket flowers, sedums, salvia, common yarrow and coneflowers.
Frequently Asked Questions About Growing Black-Eyed Susans
You now know the basics on how to plant and care for black-eyed Susans. But you may still have some additional questions. Let’s go over a few frequently asked questions before wrapping up this guide.
Q: How tall do black-eyed Susans get?
A: That depends entirely on the variety of black-eyed Susan you are planting. Some of the lower-growing varieties won’t get taller than around 18 inches. But some black-eyed Susans can grow as tall as 10 feet!
Q: What eats black-eyed Susans?
A: If you are worried about deer, don’t be. Deer do not eat black-eyed Susans.
But you do need to watch out for slugs, snails, and aphids.
Q: Are black-eyed Susans susceptible to disease?
A: Black-eyed Susans can develop powdery mildew, leaf spots, smut or rust. You should be ready to tackle the mildew with an antifungal if necessary.
Q: Black-eyed Susan: Annual or perennial?
A: Confused about whether black-eyed Susans are annual or perennial plants? That is because you can find both the annual type and the perennial type on the market.
Perennial varieties of black-eyed Susans such as Goldstrum or Sweet Black-Eyed Susans come back every year. Annual varieties of black-eyed Susans like Clasping Sunflower die in the winter. But you can grow new plants from their seeds.
There are also biennial black-eyed Susans. A plant that is biennial germinates the first year and blooms on the second—normally. But starting a biennial black-eyed Susan indoors sufficiently early gives you a shot at blossoms that same season.
Where to Buy Black-Eyed Susans
Are you ready to bring some floral sunshine to your garden? To shop for black-eyed Susans now, click the link below. Enjoy these long-blooming flowers this summer and fall!
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