Rudbeckia in Planters

Hi I am very new to gardening and purchased two Rudbeckia plants

Rudbeckia Goldsturm & Rudbeckia Cherry Brandy.  Both are planted up in 20inch planters, both are still in flower. With Winter coming fast I just need to know hows best to protect my plants. I dont have a greenhouse and we are south facing but quite open from winds off the moors of Lancashire.  Any help is much appreciated.

Goldsturm is a lot hardier than Cherry Brandy. You have a good chance of overwintering Goldsturm. Fleece or bubble-wrap would offer a limited protection .It really depends how low the temperatures drop, and whether the temperature stays sub-zero for any length of time. Maybe you could take the pot somewhere more protected, such as inside a garage.

Cherry Brandy is perennial. In principle, it can survive. However, it is very easy to grow Cherry Brandy from seed each year, so that might be the simplest thing to do.

'Goldsturm' is a hardy perennial and won't need protecting.

I don't know 'Cherry Brandy' but I'm sure someone will.

I thought Cherry Brandy was a tender short lived perennial, but Sarah Raven lists it as a half hardy annual. Anyway, it's usually thrown away after the frosts and re-sown under cover in early spring or bought as a plug plant. Thompson and Morgan sell it.

I have Goldsturm planted in a border in the garden and it's been there for years.

Lots of seed companies describe a plant as annual when they really should be described as half hardy or tender perennials, sometimes even fairly hardy perennials. Is that so we chuck them all out at the end of the season and buy another packet?