It seems to be a biennial here. It does flop some. It self seeds, but not aggressively. Mine bloomed all summer. I'd save seeds and start a few each year to keep it going.

Cameron, I have been following your blog for a long time now. My biggest question.....where do you find the TIME to maintain your gardens???

Oh and do you know if Ratibida columnifera is hardy in zone 3 (yeah I will look it up) I think this would be a great addition to what I call my shed bed.

Jennypat -- I am a freelance writer, so I'm home when I'm not traveling. After 32 years in the corporate world, I'm doing my own thing.

That said, I don't garden everyday, all day long!

In February or March, my husband and i work on hardscape projects, such as building the gravel garden and updating the paths.

In the spring, I spend three weeks, nearly full-time getting the gardens in shape. After that, I probably average 3-4 hours each week until the weather gets too hot. Then, I just wander through and tend to deadheading and any new weeds. In the fall, I do most of my perennial transplants and sow seeds.

Yes, ratibida columnifera is for zones 3a-10b. It's a native of most of the US.

Cameron

Cameron it has to be that extra time during the winter....LOL I can't work in my garden from October thru March, unless I want to dig through the snow. I also don't have much for hardscape, I have ideas, but no budget for them.

Sigh, someday my gardens will look as great as yours.....maybe

You're quite kind, but keep in mind that I never show the not-so-pretty, unfinished or ongoing makeovers of my garden! We reduce the cost of hardscape by DIY and only do a little bit each year. I also grow many plants from seeds and division.

Slow builds a better garden. My biggest regrets have always come from going too fast...planting sun plants while waiting for trees to mature, then having to move all those plants! Impulse buys typically are busts for me. I need to have a plan!

Slow is it, I have been in this house 18 years, and gardening here since day one.....I have always gardened! My mother reminded me the other day that the lilac in her front yard was the one I transplanted from back by the outhouse when I was about 10.

I am just frustrated, I also work for myself from home, I have spent the last month trying to get my gardens into shape, I have a local church group coming June 20th for a tour, and will be gone from this friday until the 18th. It doesn't help that last summer everything got away from me. I was gone for almost a month on business July/August. Then again for another 2 weeks in Sept. Add to that a strange winter where, no snow, all the weeds grew, and a lot of perennials died.

Ah well.....I still love it!

If folks are coming to your garden for a tour, then it must be gorgeous! Have fun with your tour.

Thanks, I have never had a tour come before, and I don't know if I would call it that. A gal I know doesn't garden, but loves to visit mine has asked if she could come by with the ladies from her church. It's a small church, so I am thinking there will only be about 10 - 12 ladies. But it's making me take a good HARD look at my yard and beds. Plus everything is so early this year, I don't know if there will be anything left blooming when they come!

It has naturalized in my meadows. It self sows lavishly, but that is what I hoped for. It never flops, blooms for a long time, and rabbits and deer don't like it.
Mine is grown in gravel/clay/twitch - whatever the uncultivated soil offers without additional water or any soil supplement. I would think that regular watering would make it flop.
I would rate it as one of my favourite natives.
Jennypat, most garden visitors will see the flowers, not the weeds. In their own gardens, they see the imperfections, as you do in yours, but are much more willing to be entranced by someone else's efforts. So relax and enjoy yourself.

Ninamarie - thank you! That's what I'd like to do with the ratibida in my deer resistant meadow garden. It looks great beside the rudbeckia hirta that self-sows.

Cameron

Well, mine has flopped terribly. I hate to have to cut it back because it is in full bloom, but it is laying over the top of other plants and I don't want it to kill them. If I give it a good pruning will it grow back and flower again yet this year? I think the soil is too rich in this bed. I have a lot of other plants that have grown fierce in this bed and are flopping all over. I've cut them all back, my ratibida is next on the hair cut list.

Karen

I also have ratibida in zone 7 (Virginia). Each 'hat' contains more seeds than you can imagine. When mine get larger, they flop. It may depend on the soil - mine seems to be pretty plant-friendly. Regardless, I love the plant, and just control how many there are and how big they get. If they flop in an area where I don't like it, I cut them back. They are great natives. Keep in mind that some of the people who responded are in zones 3 or 4.