My winter sown Prairie Sun hasn't bloomed yet but my Irish Eyes bloomed in July 2011 (second year grown from seed). I love it and will add it to other beds around the garden now that I've seen it up close and personal. My plants didn't get very tall but that works for me.

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Eileen, they are beauties! Never did get mine last year..glad you reminded me to look for them. Did you wintersow them in milk jugs or direct sow them after all your snow melted?

pippi21 - they were winter sown from traded seeds. R. Autumn Colors bloomed first year from WS seed so I was hoping Irish Eyes would too but they didn't. Sure was jazzed when they bloomed last year. Seed (Burpee) is available commercially here at the job lots stores. It wasn't the year I WS my traded seeds.

My favorite Rudbeckia is R. triloba (brown-eyed susan). Small flowers, but tons of them over a long season. If plants are cut back early in the season they will bloom at around 2 1/2-3 feet in height and need minimal staking.

GW discussion here with photo partway down the thread.

Thanks! I love both the Irish eyes and that Rudbeckia triloba (and I see Botanicl Interests and Amazon have the triloba; Swallowtail has the Irish).

I'd 1. moved to the mountains, so new weeds here
2. planted Rudbeckias (ws) last year
3. Concerned might have "weeded" them out if they didn't bloom that first year (now I'll remember to mark them better. Not a new gardener by any means, so shouldn't have made that rookie mistake).

Always leanring. :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: My blog, Garden category posts

I have never had Irish Eyes but have raised Prairie Sun for several years. I love it. Its appropriately named because it looks like the sun surrounding the green center. Have never posted a picture before but I'm going to try.{{gwi:197268}}

When I first moved here 6 years ago, the neighbors laughed at all my plant labels. After a couple of years, they started asking me to come to their gardens and tell them what plants they were growing because they'd forgotten the names and/or lost any tags that came with the plants.

I'm looking forward to the new rudbeckias I winter sowed last year that should bloom this year: Cherokee Sunset, Indian Summer, Cherry Brandy, Cappucino & Double Gold, all from traded seed. The full sun bed where they're going is ready and waiting. They're tucked inside a storage bin inside my garage for the winter.

I love "Indian Summer". Its blooms seem so perfect.

I don't have Prairie Sun but I planted Irish Eyes last spring and it bloomed for a very long time. I hope it comes back. Prairie GLOW is on my wish list.

Are these not all annuals...? I grow all of these, and while one or two plants may return, I start new ones from seed every year. Am I missing something?

Rudbeckia tribloba is a perennial, and a great one! Absolutely love the little blooms!

Dee

Dee - Swallowtail lists Rudbeckia hirta as annuals but Burpee sells the Irish Eyes seeds as perennials. Mine grew from winter sown seed but didn't bloom the first year so they couldn't have self-seeded. They came up and bloomed in year two right where I planted them. I've got R. Autumn Colors in a few different beds & they all came up again in the same places two years running.

Wagonwheel - thanks for the picture - it convinced me to just order both.

Wagonwheel - wow - love the image of 'Prairie Sun.' Thanks. I sowed both varieties from seed and had poor germination. Another weird spring too hot too cold not enough water, etc. I have a single 'Irish Eyes' I'm nursing and expect to plant soon. I've been debating where to put it! I've been very happy with the way the 'Cherry Brandy' looks in and among the other Rudbeckias I have which are common R. hirta and fulgida. I have R. triloba all over the place - self sown - and love it wherever it pops up - as for 'Prairie Sun' - there is something green in one of the containers so I'm hoping I have one. Funny how precious a single seedling can be when it's the only one.

Dee - I have wondered about the perennial/annual listing of all the Rudbeckias, but here in zone 7b/8a they almost all overwinter in sort of a semi-evergreen rosette stage.

Hello,
I grew Cherry Brandy, Irish Eyes, Autumn Colors and Prairie Sun this year from seed, started in peat pellets in March. All did great and I had about 30 of each spread around. I was wondering if the seeds I have collected from them will come true or is it possible they cross pollinated. I also have a couple thousand Black Eyed Susans and another Rudbeckia that came in a wild flower mix. Absolutely beautiful flowers, I hope the next generation stays true to the parents.

Thanks,
Gale

Hello,
I grew Cherry Brandy, Irish Eyes, Autumn Colors and Prairie Sun this year from seed, started in peat pellets in March. All did great and I had about 30 of each spread around. I was wondering if the seeds I have collected from them will come true or is it possible they cross pollinated. I also have a couple thousand Black Eyed Susans and another Rudbeckia that came in a wild flower mix. Absolutely beautiful flowers, I hope the next generation stays true to the parents.

Thanks,
Gale

I have grown both Irish Eyes and Prairie Sun but neither one came out nearly as nice as the pics on this thread.

GDJCB, your plants have most likely cross-pollinated and it has been my experience that you will get an assortment of seedlings as a result - some will resemble the parents and some won't.

My favorite cultivar so far is 'Indian Summer,' which is a large lush tetraploid black eyed Susan. It was the only one I grew this year and I collected a lot of seed which hopefully will seed true.

terrene, Thank you for the response, great to hear some will come back true, and just maybe some that don't will look just as good. If they spread like the 2 in the wild flower patch I will have plenty even if I have to pull some that don't turn out so nice. I guess I will let my sister know the seeds I give her might not look true to what she saw here this summer, but she will be happy none the less.

Thanks,
Gale

My Irish Eyes did not survive the winter. It did self seed resulting in multi-colored blooms the next year. Each year I let them self seed and they continue to vary from year to year with none of them looking like Irish Eyes.

Cherry Brandy has been perennial for three years.

2010
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2012

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I WS'd Prairie Sun it did not germinate. Trying it again this season. I did sow the Cherokee Sunset. I believe Rudbeckias are my favorite flower as of now.

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My favorite is still Indian Summer.

Betty