Neither.

Some say the species (fulgida) is less prone to septoria leaf spot than Goldsturm. Personally I have not had a problem with either. Rudbeckia fulgida 'Early Bird Gold' is a little smaller growing to about 2ft. with slightly smaller blooms. I THINK the leaves may be a little smaller as well. It's supposed to be day neutral and start blooming up to two months earlier. That has not been the case for me, it starts less than a week earlier here.

I've found Rud' f. fulgida to bloom ealier and longer than Goldstrum. It's not quite as tall or broad and the flowers are a little smaller and a little more yellow. Also, I found that it performed better in a partially shaded site.

As always, keep in mind that the same plant in different sites/zones/sub-climates/conditions/soil, etc. will perform differently, but I hope this information is helpful.

I happen to love fulgida fulgida.

Best of luck!

Just to emphasize the correct name - it's Rudbeckia "Goldsturm" (German for "Storm of Gold"), NOT "Goldstrum" (sellers often screw this up for some reason).

Thanks everyone for sharing your experience with these two varieties and also for a correction on the spelling of "Goldsturm".

Last week I found another short compact rudbeckia variety of Black-eyed Susan that I'm excited about. I'll post here with a description for those interested.