by Kelly D. Norris

The Genus Rudbeckia

To most of my friends, it’s no secret that I’m a sucker for a new plant.  When I saw Rudbeckia subtomentosa ‘Henry Eilers’ at the Terra Nova Nursery booth at the Mid-Am Horticultural Trade Fair in Chicago last January, I was reminded that great plants aren’t defined by the time they’ve been on the market.  While the latter is a terrific perennial, it shares company with a humble troupe of staple Rudbeckia that are most surely worth gardening with.  And that aren’t the oft-planted Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’.

The genus Rudbeckia is familiar to most of us thanks to the black-eyed susans, either the annual R. hirta or the aforementioned perennial R. fulgida ‘Goldsturm’, a Perennial Plant of the Year in 1999.  Though it has successfully made its way into every median, curbside planting, and corporate office lot in America, it shouldn’t jade your opinions of an otherwise useful group of plants.  One such relative is Rudbeckia maxima, the giant coneflower native to the southern United States.  Despite its southerly roots it is remarkably hardy to Zone 4, enabling gardeners from Arkansas to Quebec to enjoy its stately features.  When I see giant coneflower I always think winter interest.  The six-foot mega stalks are the perfect structural addition to the herbaceous border when in bloom and the remnant seed heads hold themselves well into the snowy months.  Large, blue-green leaves provide coarse texture that complements perennial companions like daylilies and ornamental grasses.

If any Rudbeckia is to abolish the notion that new is better it’s none other than heirloom Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Goldquelle’.  I stumbled upon this plant at my great-grandmother’s farmstead many years ago where it had established itself as a most perseverant hedge.  The coarse, reed-like stems soared well above my teenage reach and were festooned in brilliant golden double daisies.  Commonly known as the cutleaf coneflower, it sports grayish, dissected foliage that is resilient to most leaf spots and other blemishing syndromes.  Hardy, durable, and gaining in popularity, you’re liable to find this Victorian staple in nurseries keen on preserving our floral heritage.  And don’t worry about trying to find several to start out with.  This oldie lacks nothing for vigor and soon you’ll be sharing it with neighbors and friends or moving it to other parts of the yard.  In my garden it’s not only a rugged ornamental but a special pass-along plant as well.

Though it’s new and something great-grandma didn’t grow, Rudbeckia subtomentosa ‘Henry Eilers’ is one of the most redeeming perennial introductions of recent years.  A flood of new varieties inundates the market from season to season and as a gardener keen on trying them all, a certain many undoubtedly get tossed.  This brown-eyed susan was not relegated to the compost pile though I might have to relocate it from its original place.  My initial introduction to the species was again from a selection found growing at my great-grandmother’s farm, a more compact specimen.  Indeed ‘Henry Eilers’ excels to new heights with towering, highly cutworthy 24” stems that sport quilled yellow flowers with warm chocolate cones.  The quilled flowers are perhaps the best part and there is no shortage of them to enjoy throughout the summer as the plant blooms like a champion from July through the end of August.  I’d make a prediction that this coneflower from the U.K. is bound to make its way around the world.  Who knows, with its durability and profound flowering habits a great-grandchild of yours just might run across it someday in your garden begging a piece for a garden of their own.

Kelly D. Norris is Farm Manager at Rainbow Iris Farm and, when not in the garden, can be found roaming the greenhouses of Horticulture Hall at Iowa State University. Check out his blog, the E-Garden Almanac, at his website http://www.kellydnorris.com/ for images of the plants mentioned.