Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy'

Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy': Black-Eyed Susan Goes Cherry Red

Cherry-red petals around a dark brown cone, like a black-eyed Susan that came home from the holiday party a little flushed. 'Cherry Brandy' is HERE FOR A GOOD TIME, NOT A LONG TIME.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Rudbeckia hirta 'Cherry Brandy'
• Common Name: Black-eyed Susan, gloriosa daisy
• Height: 50–60 cm (20–24 in)
• Spread: 30–40 cm (12–16 in)
• Flowers: Cherry-red petals, lighter at the tips, around a dark brown cone, about 8–10 cm (3–4 in) across
• Bloom Time: Midsummer to early fall (July to September)
• Foliage: Fuzzy, deep green leaves
• Features: Good cut flower, short-lived but often self-seeds

Where to Plant: Use it at the front or middle of a sunny border, in a cutting garden or in large containers. Plant a few in a group so the colour reads from a distance.

Companion Plants: Gaura 'Whirling Butterflies' adds airy white flowers at 60 to 90 cm from June to September. Monarda punctata brings bicolour bee balm in June and July. Campanula 'Blue Magic'® spills blue flowers along the front from June to September. Cherry-red rudbeckia from July to September makes the white and blue look crisp.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun to part sun, in average, well-drained soil. Water regularly while it settles in. Once established it handles ordinary summer weather without much help, but avoid soggy ground, especially over winter. Deadhead to keep the flowers coming. Late in the season, leave a few seed heads in place if you'd like it to self-seed. Rudbeckia hirta is a short-lived perennial that often behaves like a biennial, so think of it as a plant that renews itself from seed rather than a long-lived clump. Cut it back in late fall or early spring.

History: Rudbeckia hirta, the original black-eyed Susan, is native across much of North America, from the Midwest prairies to southern Ontario, and the genus honours the Swedish botanists Olof Rudbeck the Elder and the Younger. 'Cherry Brandy' was the first red-flowered selection grown from seed.

Final Thoughts: It reseeds itself, so the party keeps refilling its own glass. Deer skip it, bees don't. BRANDY ON THE HOUSE.