Description of varieties of perennial rudbeckia, planting and care in open ground

Rudbeckia is a herbaceous plant belonging to the Asteraceae family. It grows naturally in North America. There are at least 40 species. Rudbeckia is also popularly called “Sunbonnet” or “Black-Eyed Suzanne”. In order to plant and provide proper care for perennial rudbeckia, you will not need much effort.

Features of perennial culture

The stems of this flower are simple but quite long; they can grow up to 2 meters in height. Some wild species reach 3 meters. The leaves of the plant are large, pinnately dissected. Rudbeckia has basket-shaped inflorescences. They often reach 15 cm in diameter. After flowering, fruits appear; they are small seeds with a dark color.

Popular varieties for planting in the garden

The flowers of this plant have a bright sunny color and a dark contrasting core. There are many varieties, but some are especially popular among gardeners.

Golden ball

This variety got its name due to its appearance. Its inflorescences are spherical in shape and bright yellow in color. During the flowering period, the plant is literally strewn with inflorescences. They have a diameter of 8-12 cm. The flowering period begins in mid-summer and continues until the first frost. The foliage of this rudbeckia is not too large, deeply pinnately dissected.

Hairy

Hairy rudbeckia, although perennial, does not tolerate severe frosts. Therefore, it is often grown as an annual plant. This variety is also called Rudbeckia Hirta. The flowers have a bright yellow color, gradually turning into a brownish tint, with reed petals and a violet-brown center.

The variety got its name because of the fibers that cover both the stem and petals of the bush. The diameter of the flowers is up to 10-12 cm. The bushes do not grow above 1 meter.

Beautiful

This variety is also called beautiful rudbeckia. It has a height of up to 60 cm. The flowers are orange in color with reed petals, as well as black-brown tubular flowers with a jagged edge, their diameter is 10 cm. It has a strong stem and oblong or rounded leaves. The flowering period lasts from 50 to 65 days, starting in July. The variety is resistant to frost and various pests and diseases.

Goldilox

A bush 40-50 cm high, having large double or semi-double inflorescences of bright yellow color with a dark center. The flowering period begins at the end of June and ends with the onset of frost. The variety is quite thermophilic and develops better in open sunny areas.

Growing conditions

In order to grow rudbeckia, you don’t need much effort, but still, if you decide to plant this flower on your plot, you need to know in what soil it will feel best, what the lighting, temperature and humidity should be. And, of course, you need to know how to care for rudbeckia so that it develops and delights with its bright flowering for as long as possible.

Soil composition requirements

These crops prefer slightly acidic or neutral soil and loose soil. It must be permeable and fertile. At the same time, the plant will be able to develop on clay soil provided that sand is added to it. On heavy soils the bush will develop poorly.

Lighting and planting location

Rudbeckias prefer open sunny areas, but they also do well in semi-shaded areas. At the same time, in partial shade, flowering will not be as intense. You should not plant the flower in places where shade reigns most of the day. The best option is if the sun shines over the rudbeckia at least 6 hours a day.

Temperature and humidity

Although this flower prefers sunny areas, it does not tolerate drought. The bush needs regular, abundant watering. An ideal option if there is groundwater nearby. A systematic lack of moisture negatively affects the plant. The foliage curls or simply droops, the flowers become smaller and quickly lose their decorative effect.

The temperature regime corresponds to the temperate climate zone.

The best and worst neighbors of a plant

When choosing neighbors for this flower, you should not opt ​​for low-growing plants, because rudbeckia is quite tall and can suppress the growth of nearby plants. Also, crops that are harmed by excessive soil moisture, such as roses, should not be planted nearby.

Rudbeckia goes well with annual verbena, especially if it is planted between bushes of sunny flowers. White phlox, blue sage, echinacea and monarda can also be good neighbors. In autumn they look great with chrysanthemums, gaillardias, coreopsis and asters, and cereal crops are also suitable as neighbors.

Planting in open ground

Before planting a flower in open ground, you should choose a place and prepare the soil for it.

Timing of planting work

This plant is planted in open ground in the last week of May. At this time, there are no longer frosts at night, the weather stabilizes, the air warms up, and with it the soil. This is important for still immature and unhardened plants.

During the rooting period of planted flowers, it is recommended to monitor the weather forecast.In case of frost, it is necessary to make a shelter for the rudbeckia; for this you can use agrospan. After the flower has rooted, it is no longer afraid of any frost.

If seeds are planted immediately in open ground, then this can only be done at the end of June. Important! When transplanting rudbeckia into open ground, the air temperature should not be lower than +18 °C.

Preparing the place and soil

Having chosen the most successful area for planting, you need to dig it up to a depth of 20-30 cm, remove all weeds and level the ground using a rake. If the soil is loamy, sand is added to it, which increases permeability.

Next, holes are made, the distance between them should be from 40 to 70 cm, it all depends on the height of the future bush. If the holes are located too close to each other, the plants will interfere with each other. Such bushes will not bloom abundantly.

Flower planting technology

The first step is to prepare the holes. After they are dug, they are poured generously with warm water. “Fitosporin” or several crystals of potassium permanganate are first added to it.

Next, plant the seedlings and cover them well with soil, lightly compacting it. It is recommended to lay a layer of mulch on top, because the plant will grow in one place for 3-5 years. The best material for mulching is compost. The mulch thickness should be about 8 cm.

You can also sow rudbeckia seeds directly into open ground, after keeping them in water. This will help “awaken” the material. Before planting, they are mixed with clean sand. It will help to more easily distribute the seeds along the grooves, which should be spaced 15 cm apart.

Rudbeckia care

Caring for the flower is quite simple, you just need to know how and when to water and fertilize, how to prune and replant the plant to a new place, and also how to prepare rudbeckia for wintering.

Irrigation and fertilization

Young plants need watering more often. But adult bushes are irrigated only during droughts, but this is provided that rudbeckia grows in the right soil. If the summer was hot and without much precipitation, then without additional irrigation the bush will finish flowering long before the end of summer. After watering, it is necessary to lightly loosen the soil and remove weeds.

Fertilize for the first time two weeks after planting in open ground. And the second time during the formation of buds. The best option for this would be a universal complex fertilizer or a solution based on mullein. A solution of wood ash and an infusion of green herbs are also used.

Before flowering, you can fertilize with the following fertilizing options:

• nitrophoska;
• potassium sulfate;
• "Agricola 7".

All these drugs are diluted according to the same principle. Dilute 1 tbsp in 10 liters of water. l. fertilizers For 1 sq. m should take 3 liters of solution. 2-3 weeks after the start of flowering, this fertilizing can be repeated.

Formative and rejuvenating pruning of the plant

Throughout the entire flowering period, you should periodically inspect the bush and cut off the stems with faded inflorescences to the first healthy leaf. This is done so that the bushes retain their decorative properties and bloom longer. Thinning pruning is also carried out if the bushes are too dense. After such pruning, new growth appears.

In the fall, after the bush has finished flowering, the stems are cut to the very roots for wintering. It is permissible not to do this, but to cut the stems only in the spring; this will not affect the health of the plant in any way.

Caring for after flowering

Rudbeckia finishes flowering in autumn. Immediately after this, its stems can be trimmed. If, during pruning, any disease was discovered on the stems, such as powdery mildew or signs of other pathologies, then the trimmed material should be burned. You cannot send such bushes to the compost heap.

Transfer to a new place

A shrub that has grown in one place for 4-5 years needs to be transplanted to a new place. The bush is replanted in September-October or in March. This is the time when the plant has not yet entered the active growth phase or has already completed it. The best time of day is early morning or evening, after sunset.

The bush is dug up and divided into several parts. In the new place, they also dig holes and add compost or humus to them. Bushes are placed in them and covered with fertile soil, compacting the soil. Immediately after transplanting, the flowers are watered abundantly.

Pests and diseases: prevention and treatment

A white coating may appear on rudbeckia bushes, most often it appears on the lower part of the bush. These are signs of a disease called powdery mildew. In order to get rid of this disease, you should treat the bush with copper sulfate. To do this, dilute 80 g of copper sulfate in 10 liters of water. You can also use colloidal sulfur, which is diluted in the same way, or the drug “Skor”.

The appearance of brown spots on the foliage indicates that the plant is being damaged by a leaf nematode. At the first signs of this disease, you should immediately treat the bush with a preparation such as Nemagon, Nemaphos or Bazamide.

This is done only with perennial varieties of rudbeckia.Infected annual or biennial representatives of this family are completely removed from the garden bed and destroyed to avoid the spread of the disease.

Also, among the pests, the bush can be attacked by a caterpillar, which eats the foliage of the flower. They fight it with the help of insecticidal preparations.

The best prevention of these and all other diseases is proper flower care. With proper care, the plant has a strong immune system, does not get sick and is extremely rarely exposed to pests.

Preparing for winter

Preparing a shrub for winter involves pruning and covering it. After all the bushes are trimmed, they are covered with mulch. Humus, peat, spruce branches, dry leaves or grass are suitable for this. The mulch layer should be at least 7-8 cm.

If the winters are not too severe, shelter may not be needed, but if a severe frost suddenly “hits” or the winter is without much precipitation, then there is a high probability that the rudbeckia bushes will freeze.

Nuances of caring for rudbeckia depending on the region of growth

Depending on the region where the flower grows, some nuances in caring for it may appear:

• Plants are planted in open ground in the northern regions in June, and in the southern regions at the end of April, in the central part, which includes the Moscow region, they are planted, as expected, in May.
• Often in northern regions this perennial flower is grown as an annual plant.
• In the northern regions, when choosing a place to plant shrubs, you need to give preference to areas without strong drafts and flooding. In this region, nearby groundwater can harm the plant.
• To grow rudbeckia in Siberia, it is better to give preference to hybrids that were specially bred for difficult living conditions.

How does a flower reproduce?

This plant can be propagated in two ways: by seeds and by dividing the root system.

Seeds

When choosing seeds for propagation, you can use two growing methods: sowing directly into the ground and through seedlings.

More expensive and rare varieties are often planted through seedlings when there is a limited number of seeds. And immediately the common varieties are sown into the soil, of which the gardener has quite a lot. But regardless of the chosen option, the material must be prepared.

Before sowing, the seeds are placed in water at a temperature of +20 °C. They should be kept there for 15-20 hours. Then they are laid out on paper towels to blot and remove excess moisture. Now the seeds are ready for sowing.

When sowing seedlings, the seeds are sown in boxes filled with soil and spilled with water a day before sowing. Shallow grooves are made in the soil and seeds are sown in them. Then they are covered with a thin layer of soil. A film or sheet of glass is placed on top of the box.

Seeds are sown in open ground in the same way as in boxes. Good to know! When sowing rudbeckia directly into the ground, flowering will occur only in the next season.

How and when to collect rudbeckia seeds

You can start collecting seeds as early as September-October. This should be done in dry weather, during the daytime. Dry inflorescences are cut using scissors. Then they are cut in half and laid out on paper sheets. Leave them in a dry, secluded place for a week until they are completely dry.

Dry inflorescences are crushed so that all the seeds fall out. They are placed in a paper bag and stored in a dry, warm place until spring.Such seeds will be suitable for use for 3 years.

Dividing the bush

After the bush reaches 3 years of age, it can be propagated by dividing the rhizome. It is at this age that the root system is sufficiently formed for such manipulations.

A large bush is dug up and divided into several parts. For each part, dig a hole, add fertilizer to it and plant part of the bush in it. When moving a bush to a new place, you should not remove the adhering soil from it; it is better to plant it along with it. This way the shrub will quickly take root and take root in the new territory. Upon completion of planting, the bushes must be watered.

What problems can you encounter when growing a plant?

Perennial rudbeckia is a fairly stable plant, and problems rarely arise when growing it:

1. Excessive watering can cause fungal diseases, including powdery mildew.
2. If there is no watering in dry weather, the flower may stop developing.
3. Sometimes the root system freezes. This shrub is frost-resistant, but may die during extreme cold.
4. By planting a flower through seeds collected yourself, you may not get the desired result. The grown flowers may not have the characteristics of the mother bush.

The flower is an excellent option for decorating a garden or flower garden. It is often used by florists, since the inflorescences remain fresh for a long time after being cut. Rudbeckia is preferred for its unpretentiousness, beautiful and long-lasting flowering. If you follow simple recommendations, it will not cause much trouble.