Rudbeckia triloba*

Rudbeckia triloba (Browneyed Susan, Brown-Eyed Susan, Thin-Leaved Coneflower, Three-Leaved Coneflower) is an easily grown plant native to the United States.

This biennial or short-lived perennial is easily grown in average, moist, well-drained soils in full sun. It tolerates light shade, but plants may need support if grown in too much shade. Best in moist, organically rich soils. Tolerates heat, some drought and a somewhat wide range of soils. Deadhead spent flowers to encourage additional blooms and/or to prevent any unwanted self-seeding. Whether or not plants survive from one year to the next, they freely self-seed and will usually remain in the garden and naturalize through self-seeding.

Rudbeckia triloba, commonly called Brown-Eyed Susan, is a coarse, weedy, somewhat hairy, clump-forming, densely-branched biennial or short-lived perennial that is native from New England to Minnesota south to Georgia and Oklahoma. In Missouri, it typically occurs in wet woods along streams, alluvial thickets, rocky slopes at the base of bluffs and along roadsides throughout the state except for the far southeastern corner (Steyermark). This is a densely-branched plant that typically grows to 2-3’ (less frequently to 5’) tall. Daisy-like flowers (to 1 1/2” diameter) featuring 6-12 yellow rays and brown-purple center disks bloom profusely from summer to fall. Leaves are thin and rough-textured on both sides. Some of the leaves are 3-lobed (less frequently 5- or 7-lobed).