Rudbeckia, Sahara (Organic)
Rudbeckia hirta. 80-90 days. Perennial to zone 8.
Sahara Rudbeckia is one of the flowers in our fields that nearly every visitor pauses to admire, and most say they want to grow. With a unique color palette of smoky hues ranging from golden to rose, and burgundy to chocolate (sometimes seemingly all in one flower!), the 3”-4” wide, double flowers have a lot to offer. Great aesthetics, combined with strong stems and long bloom time have led Sahara Rudbeckia to become a standby for many floral designers (even though some may wish that the stems were a bit longer). Perhaps best of all: The plants have strong perennial tendencies and start blooming fairly early in their second and subsequent seasons, and continue blooming well into the fall. Plants stay relatively small, at 20”-24”, and look great in garden beds and containers, too. Aka, Black-Eyed Susan.
Direct sow late winter to late spring, or sow indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost. Requires light to germinate. Thin / transplant to 12-15” centers, in full sun to part shade. Deadhead to prolong bloom.
Seed Saving
Collect seeds from seedheads that are fully dry. Shell by hand or by dancing, winnow to clean. Finish air-drying if necessary before sealing in airtight container. Some cross-pollination may occur; if saving seed, isolate from other varieties of the same species by 1/4 mile.
What others are saying
There are no contributions yet.