Best rudbeckias to grow

As midsummer flowers start to fade, rudbeckias take over with their cheery yellow blooms.

Flowering from late summer to mid-autumn, rudbeckias are especially suited to prairie-style borders. They combine particularly well with border perennials such as perovskia, eupatorium, echinacea and persicaria.

How to grow rudbeckias

Rudbeckias are exceptionally easy to grow. The annual and biennial types like ‘Cherokee Sunset’ and ‘Aries’ can be grown from seed in spring, while the perennial varieties like ‘Herbstsonne’ and ‘Goldsturm’ can be planted at any time of year.

Rudbeckias perform best in moist, well-drained soils in full sun. Cultivars vary in height from 50cm to two metres, so there’s an option for any size of garden.

More on growing rudbeckias:

• How to grow rudbeckias
• Crocosmia, penstemon and rudbeckia pot display
• Plants for late-summer colour

We recommend eight of our favourite rudbeckia varieties, below.

Unlike the species, this Rudbeckia hirta cultivar has pale green centres as opposed to the more usual black. ‘Prairie Sun’ has beautiful light orange petals that fade to lemon yellow.

Height x Spread: 90cm x 45cm

• Buy Rudbeckia ‘Prairie Sun’ seeds from Thompson & Morgan

‘Little Goldstar’ is a floriferous, compact cultivar that looks magnificent planted in large drifts at the front of borders. It’s a good choice for growing in pots and containers, too.

H x S: 50cm x 40cm

• Buy Rudbeckia ‘Little Goldstar’ from Suttons

Unusually for a rudbeckia, ‘Cherry Brandy’ (pictured here with ‘Prairie Sun’) has deep chocolate-burgundy flowers, not unlike those of chocolate cosmos. Like all rudbeckias, it makes a great, long-lasting cut flower.

H x S: 60cm x 45cm

• Buy Rudbeckia ‘Cherry Brandy’ from Suttons

‘Cherokee Sunset’ is a charming cultivar of Rudbeckia hirta, with semi- and fully double flowers in shades of warm yellow and chocolate-brown. This tall variety makes an ideal autumnal cut flower.

H x S: 75cm x 45cm

• Buy Rudbeckia ‘Cherokee Sunset’ seeds from Thompson & Morgan

‘Irish Eyes’ has some of the largest flowers of any black-eyed Susan, and with their sunshine-yellow colouration, they’re particularly impressive. Like ‘Prairie Sun’, this variety has pale yellow-green centres.

H x S: 100cm x 50cm

• Buy Rudbeckia ‘Irish Eyes’ seeds from Suttons

The semi-double blooms of ‘Aries’ have lovely mahogany-coloured centres that bleed out into the otherwise yellow centres. Like all other rudbeckias with accessible pollen and nectar, it’s popular with bees and butterflies.

H x S: 75cm x 45cm

• Buy Rudbeckia ‘Aries’ seeds from Mr Fothergill’s

As a cultivar of Rudbeckia laciniata, ‘Herbstsonne’ is one of the largest rudbeckias you can grow. This towering perennial is ideal for spots at the back of autumn borders. Looks lovely as a cut flower.

H x S: 2m x 90cm

• Buy Rudbeckia ‘Herbstonne’ from Beth Chatto Nursery

Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii ‘Goldsturm’ is one of the best known rudbeckia varieties, with starry yellow flowers and deep brown doorknob centres. It’s a tough, well-behaved and easy-to-grow plant.

H x S: 60cm x 60cm

• Buy Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ from Thompson & Morgan