Orange Coneflower

Thrives in USDA Zones 3 - 9

• Start Indoors

  Start seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost; surface sow as seeds need light to germinate

• Transplant

  Plant container-grown plants in spring or fall; blooms reliably in the first season from transplant

• Direct Sow

  Direct sow in early spring after frost; press seeds into the surface without covering

• Harvest

  No culinary harvest; leave seed heads for overwintering songbirds

• Divide clumps every 3-4 years in early spring to maintain vigor and spread the planting.

• Deadhead spent flowers to prolong bloom, or leave them for bird food; goldfinches work seed heads actively through winter.

• More drought-tolerant and longer-lived than R. hirta; once established, it requires almost no care.

• Powdery mildew can occur in dry summers; improve air circulation by dividing dense clumps and avoid overhead watering.

• Watering

  If the top 2 inches of soil feel dry, a deep watering at the base may help more than frequent light watering. In healthy soil, rain may cover much of what it needs.

• Feeding

  Extra feeding is rarely required if soil is healthy. If growth looks pale or slow, a light compost top-dressing is often enough before adding anything stronger.

• Seasonal care

  In late fall, a light cleanup and fresh mulch can help if winter protection is useful in your climate. Leaving a little space around crowns and trunks often helps air move and keeps excess moisture from sitting there.

• Goldsturm

  The most widely sold perennial in North America for decades; uniform, compact mounds of 2-3 inch flowers on 24-inch plants; extremely reliable and long-lived. Propagated by division only.

  Best for

  Formal garden beds; mass plantings; consistent performance; cut flowers

• Straight Species

  Seed-grown plants from wild populations; more genetically variable than Goldsturm with slightly larger and less uniform flowers; superior ecological value for specialist native bees.

  Best for

  Pollinator gardens; naturalizing; wildlife habitat; meadow edges

• Little Goldstar

  Compact dwarf selection reaching 18 inches; useful for smaller gardens and front-of-border placement; retains excellent perennial vigor.

  Best for

  Small gardens; front of borders; containers

• Powdery Mildew
• Aphids; generally quite pest-resistant

Origin

Native to the eastern United States.

Native Habitat

Open woodlands, moist meadows, and prairie edges from New Jersey and Pennsylvania south to Georgia and west to Missouri and Kansas.

Current Distribution

Widespread in its native range; extensively cultivated across North America and Europe, particularly the cultivar Goldsturm.

Kingdom

Plantae

Family

Aster family (Asteraceae)

Genus

Rudbeckia

Species

fulgida

• Root System

  Fibrous and clump-forming; spreads slowly by rhizomes to form dense colonies; divides readily.

• Stem

  Upright, branching, 2-3 feet tall; rough-hairy; forming dense mounded clumps.

• Leaves

  Basal leaves large, petiolate, ovate-lanceolate; stem leaves smaller, alternate; rough to the touch.

• Flowers

  Golden-orange ray petals surrounding a prominent dark brown cone center; daisy-like, 2-3 inches across; bloom July-September.

• Fruit

  Small, 4-angled achenes in a persistent conical seed head; attractive to goldfinches and other seed-eating birds through winter.

Rudbeckia fulgida is native to the eastern United States from New Jersey south to Georgia and west to Missouri, growing naturally in open woodlands, meadow edges, and moist prairies. The species has a complex taxonomy with several recognized varieties; the wild type is somewhat variable in flower size and habit. The cultivar "Goldsturm," selected in Germany in 1937 from Czech wild-collected material, became one of the best-selling perennials in North American horticulture following its introduction to the US market in the 1970s and was named Perennial Plant of the Year in 1999. The straight species and its varieties are ecologically superior to the cultivar for supporting specialist native bees and seed-eating birds.