Garden Tip 122:

The Perennial Plant Association is a group composed of growers, retailers, landscape designers and others who are professionally involved in the perennial plant industry. Their mission is to provide information on, and promote sales of, perennial plants.

Every year they select and promote ‘The Perennial Plant of the Year.’ The 2023 selection is Rudbeckia ‘American Gold Rush.’  This Black Eye Susan flowers mid-summer to frost with bright golden yellow flowers with a chocolate center. Its bright green foliage is covered in small hairs which makes it resistant to Septoria leaf spot, a problem you have no doubt seen on other Rudbeckia varieties. It is a compact grower reaching only 25 to 30 inches tall but with a much broader width that can reach 36 to 40 inches.

This growth habit makes this Rudbeckia plant a perfect candidate to be grown in a planter for summer color on the deck, patio or garden. As a matter of fact, I would suggest that rudbeckias are better grown in containers than in the garden. Rudbeckias planted in the ground are rabbit magnets, creating a constant battle with more often than not a disappointing ending!