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August Plant of the Month- RUDBECKIA!

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HARBINGER OF AUTUMN:

The lovely yellow flowers of the Rudbckia or Black Eyed Susan let us know that autumn is just around the corner! This hardy perennial makes a great border mixed with companion plants such as Daisies, Coneflower, Russian Sage,Yarrow, Bee Balm and Salvia for a colorful display for the duration of the growing season. Rudbeckia blooms from summer until frost.

New varieties of the traditional Black Eyed Susan have been introduced lately that have added interest to this old favorite. Lets take a look at a few:

‘Goldstrum’- is the standard for the species- with large yellow daisy like flowers with brown centers.

‘Autumn Colors’ is a variety that boasts 5 in wide gold flowers that have accents of bronze and red.

‘Triloba’- is a short lived perennials with smaller yellow flowers and brown centers. Can reach 5’ in height.

‘Cherry Brandy’ –is the first ever red Rudbeckia from seed. Looks great combined with other Rudbeckias for an interesting bloom display! Tolerates heat, drought and poor soils. Grows to 24” ht.

‘Indian Summer’- Large (5”) single and semidouble yellow flowers. Blooms July to frost and grows to 36” ht.

 ‘Prairie Sun’- Unique bicolor blooms: Yellow and green/yellow. Green centers. Grows to a height of 28-30”.

 ‘Cherokee Sunset’- Large blooms (4-5”) all summer in fall shades of orange, yellow and bronze.  Blooms are both singe and semidoubles on the same plant! Heat tolerant and low-maintenance. Atractive to bees, butterflies and birds. Grows to a height of 24-30”.

Try a few of these varieties on a slope or large border for a show stopping display!

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About the Author:

Lori Hawkins, RLA, ASLA has been a registered landscape architect and active in the landscape design/build industry for over 25 years. For additional inspiring project pictures, design ideas, or great garden gifts, take a look at these websites:

HOUZZ:    http://www.houzz.com/pro/hawkinsla/__public

FACEBOOK:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hawkins-Landscape-Architecture/107145146130?ref=hl

GARDEN ART AND GIFTS: WWW.TriadGarden.com

DESIGN WORK PORTFOLIO: WWW.HawkinsLA.com

 

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