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Horticulture Report: Rudbeckia hirta

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Rudbeckia hirta

Black-eyed Susan  ‘Prairie Sun’

 Type: Herbaceous perennial – CULTIVAR

Height: 2.50 to 3.00 feet Spread: 1.50 to 2.00 feet

Bloom Time: June to frost

Bloom Description: Yellow-tipped orange rays with green center disk

Sun: Full sun Water: Medium Maintenance: Low

Suggested Use: Annual, Naturalize

Flower: Showy, Good Cut

Attracts: Butterflies Tolerate: Deer, Drought, Clay Soil

Culture

Biennial or short-lived perennial that is winter hardy to USDA Zones 3-7. It blooms in the first year from seed planted in early spring, and is accordingly often grown as an annual. It is easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Best in moist, organically rich soils. Tolerates heat, drought and a wide range of soils except poorly-drained wet ones. For best result from seed in the St. Louis area, start seed indoors around March 1. Seed may also be sown directly in the garden at last frost date. Some varieties are available in cell/six packs from nurseries. Set out seedlings or purchased plants at last frost date. Deadhead spend flowers to encourage additional bloom 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 through self-seeding.

 Noteworthy Characteristics

Ruudbeckia hirta, commonly called black-eyed Susan, is a common Missouri native wildflower which typically occurs in open woods, prairies, fields, roadsides and waste areas throughout the State. It is a coarse, hairy, somewhat weedy plant that features daisy-like flowers (to 3” across) with bright yellow to orange-yellow rays and domed, dark chocolate-brown center disks. Blooms throughout the summer atop stiff, leafy, upright stems growing 1-3’ tall. Rough, hairy, lance-shaped leaves (3-7” long). Plants of this species are sometimes commonly called gloriosa daisy, particularly the larger-flowered cultivars that come in shades of red, yellow, bronze, orange and bicolors.

Genus name honors Olof Rudbeck (1630-1702) Swedish botanist and founder of the Uppsala Botanic Garden in Sweden where Carl Linnaeus was professor of botany.

Species name of hirta means hairy in reference to the short bristles that cover the leaves and stems.

‘Prairie Sun’ grows to 3’ tall on stiff, upright, leafy stems. It produces a long summer-to-fall bloom of large, daisy-like flowers (to 5” diameter) featuring orange rays tipped with lemon yellow and greenish center disks. Flowers bloom singly atop strong, sometimes-branching stems. Rough, bright green leaves (3-7” long) in basal clumps with smaller stem leaves. ‘Prairie Sun’ is an All-America Selection winner in 2003 and a Gold Medal winner at the 2003 Fleuroselect trials in England.

Problems

No serious insect or disease problems. Susceptible to powdery mildew. Watch for slugs and snails on young plants. Can self-seed freely. Deer tend to avoid this plant.

Garden Uses

Borders. Annual beds. Cottage gardens. Wild gardens. Meadows. Groups or mass plantings. Good cut flower.

Article by: Lynn Kunstman, Jackson County Master Gardener

Posted by: Carlotta Lucas, AGC Member

Photo by: Bluestone Perennials https://www.bluestoneperennials.com

Today in the Garden: August 8, 2022

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“Stargazer’ is a hybrid lily of the Oriental lilies which are known for their fragrance.

Stargazers bloom mid-to-late summer and are easy to grow. They do best planted in well-drained loamy or sandy soil in full sunlight. USDA Zone: 4-9

Flowers and Photos by: Carlotta Lucas, AGC Member

August 2022 Garden of the Month

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994 Kestral Parkway

Jill Weston’s lovely garden at 994 Kestral Parkway is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for August 2022.  She has been gardening here for about three years, starting from the nearly blank slate of bare dirt and dead trees of a previously neglected property.

 In late July and early August, black-eyed Susans dominate the front yard, putting on a dazzling display.  Climbing roses, transplanted from a stunning five-acre spread east of Ashland that Jill and her late husband shared before downsizing, thrive against fences surrounding a small patio in back.  The north side of the property, on the Stoneridge Avenue side of this corner lot, holds rhododendrons, clematis vines, and small fig trees.

 Daffodils enliven the front yard before the black-eyed Susans pop up from the ground each year.  Jill refers to the latter as “hardy, determined girls.”  They share the space at this time of year—somewhat unwillingly—with echinacea, rose campion and many other plants.

 Jill spends a lot of time in the garden, loving every minute.  And she thinks about the garden much of the time even when she’s not in it.  She has an eye for design that enhances the overall display. Of plants not already mentioned, Jill loves cosmos, coreopsis, tithonia, and zinnias among many others.

 Jill has had guidance over the years from Tom Scales of the garden department of the Grange Co-op in Ashland.  And her friend Silvino has been helping her in this garden and the previous one for 15 years.

 Jill has only recently learned the benefits of feeding her plants.  She says she’s been slow to adapt to new gardening conditions, and terrible at being practical.  But none those flaws show in the current result.

Jill recommends that, if you want to see the black-eyed Susans in their full glory, you visit very soon because the extreme heat is taking its toll.  This is a neighborhood of many fine gardens.  Nearby, check out 305 Stoneridge, across the street from Jill on Kestral and 336 Stoneridge, across the alley from Jill.

Photos by Larry Rosengren

With thanks to Marilyn Love for the suggestion,

Ruth Sloan, Garden of the Month, Chair

July 2022: Garden of the Month

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128 E. Nevada

The garden of Kim Larson and David Minter at 128 E. Nevada is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for July 2022.  When they purchased the property in 2002, the front yard was almost entirely huge juniper bushes and the back was dominated by a large concrete pad with a laundry line plus a photinia hedge.  David tore out the junipers by tying a line to the roots and dragging them out with a truck.

Initially, Kim, who loves to work in the yard, created gardens in both front and back without an overall plan but discovered they were very high maintenance.  Bonnie (Criswell) Engelhardt of Shooting Star nursery advised the couple, who have two children, on plant selections that would prove much easier for maintenance and require less water.  Sage Hill Landscape installed much of the hardscape from a plan developed with Jane Hardgrove. Kim and David average less than two hours per week now, doing all the maintenance themselves.

Among favorite plants are older hellebores that line the walkway beside the house on the eastern edge of the property, autumn ferns, coral bells, and hardy euphorbias.  Kim has transplanted shoots from a passionflower vine that they thought had died, and was pleased to discover them doing well in their new location.

They keep chickens in a charming coop and use their droppings in the compost they regularly manage.

Kim, especially, finds joy in gardening.  She says that it is therapeutic even to weed and prune, but planting too to make things beautiful.

Article by : Ruth Sloan, AGC Garden of the Month Coordinator

Photos by Larry Rosengren.

June 2022: Garden of the Month

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780 Walker Street

Lorraine Vail’s and Ed Smith’s garden at 780 Walker Street is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for June 2022.  It is a very special garden in many ways, not least of which is the couple’s desire to share the beauty and knowledge they have gained through creating this garden.

They started with a nearly blank slate in the Fall of 2013.  Lorraine took an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) course at nearby SOU, taught by professional landscape designer Fran Adams, during which she submitted a design for the OLLI courtyard garden.  Completing that assignment earned the homeowners complimentary consultations on their home garden from Adams and from Seth Barnard of Solid Ground Landscape.  Ultimately, Solid Ground installed the hardscape and did the initial planting, working from Lorraine’s design.  Solid Ground continues to consult on design and provides seasonal assistance although Ed and Lorraine take care of it day-to-day, averaging ten hours a week.

A second phase began during the pandemic when the couple had time on their hands.  During this phase, Ed, a talented woodworker, completed the attractive fence and added gorgeous gates in 2020.  This allowed them to plant without worrying about deer preferences.  They have had problems with bears trying to climb the fence (and doing significant damage in the process).  The side garden provides a more intimate space for relaxation and contemplation, and is very colorful at this time of year.

A unique and charming feature of this Japanese-inspired garden is “The Garden Box;” a display case that they installed to inform passersby about the garden.  Changing the contents frequently allows them to describe specific plants, share photos, and enchant with poetry about the garden.

Both Lorraine and Ed enjoy the many changes in the garden throughout the year and look forward to seeing changes between years as plants change and mature.  An important aspect of their design is contrast in color and texture.  Among the couple’s favorite plants are horny goat weed, the variegated leaves of which stay beautiful all year; spirea in its many forms; brunnera; and weeping redbud.

Peruse the Garden Box and peek through the gate to enjoy this special place.

Last photo by Lorraine Vail, taken in the Fall.  All other photos by Larry Rosengren, taken this Spring.

Article by: Ruth Sloan, AGC Garden of the Month Chairman