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Having moved to North America, Europeans immediately noticed bright flowers with a black center growing in the forests. They named the plant “Suzanne’s Black Eyes” and began to grow it in their gardens, gradually cultivating and developing new varieties. Once in Europe, the flower received the name “rudbeckia”, in honor of one famous botanist. Since then, the plant has managed to gain popularity in almost all countries of the world; rudbeckia is constantly being selected and new varieties and hybrids are being developed. There are both annual flowers and varieties with a lifespan of two or several years. The main advantage of rudbeckia is its unpretentiousness and ease of reproduction.
This article will be devoted to how to grow annual rudbeckia from seeds, when to plant perennial varieties and how to care for these flowers. Here we will also talk about the most famous plant varieties and provide a brief description of the species.
Plant characteristics
Rudbeckia is very actively used in the design of gardens and plots, landscape designers love it, the flower is suitable for creating flower beds, framing fences and hedges, bright inflorescences well emphasize the beauty of buildings.
Among the annual and perennial species of rudbeckia, there are many varieties that differ in the color of the inflorescences and the height of the stems. Typically, the height of the plant varies from 30 to 100 cm, but there are also giant varieties that grow more than a meter.
The stems of rudbeckia are herbaceous, hard, and covered with small fluff. The leaves are also pubescent, carved, medium in size and dark green in color. The inflorescences are quite large, in some varieties the diameter of the flower can exceed 15 cm. The shape of the inflorescence is simple, the petals are arranged in one row.
The most expressive feature of rudbeckias is their variegated coloring; these flowers can be colored in:
- uniform yellow shade;
- orange;
- golden yellow color;
- red;
- red-brown;
- various tones of brown.
There are rudbeckias with inflorescences of other shades, but they are quite rare and belong to expensive elite varieties.
Common types and varieties
Rudbeckias are usually classified into groups of annual and perennial plants. Each group has several species and dozens of varieties, all of which have distinctive characteristics.
The most famous types of rudbeckia in Russia:
- Embracing. This is an annual plant that blooms from early summer until the first frost. The species got its name because of the downturned petals, as if clasping a powerful stem. The leaves of this variety are large, the flower baskets are also pleasingly large - the plant looks very impressive in group plantings.
- Shaggy black-eyed beauty can be grown both as an annual and as a biennial plant.This species can also be called hairy. A special feature of these flowers is the remarkable height of the bush - almost all varieties reach more than a meter in height. The baskets of inflorescences are colored rich yellow, and their centers are brown.
- Dissected Rudbeckia is perennial and blooms from July to August. The most common variety is “Golden Ball”.
- Glossy The variety also belongs to perennials. Its flowering continues from the beginning of July to the end of August. You can recognize flowers of this species by their lightened center.
- U shiny rudbeckia, on the contrary, the middle of the flower is painted in a darker shade compared to the edges.
- Sun-gazing The variety grows in the wild, but can also be grown in gardens. It is a perennial plant with smaller flowers.
Popular varieties of annual rudbeckias:
- Golden Ray;
- Amber;
- Marmalade;
- Cherry Brandy (a rare variety with carmine-red flowers);
- Mocha.
All of the listed varieties are propagated by seeds, which the florist can purchase at a flower shop or collect independently from his flower beds.
Reproduction of annuals
Unlike perennials, all annual flowers can reproduce exclusively by seeds. And here There are two methods of growing: seedlings and planting seeds in the ground. Both of these methods are successfully used by Russian flower growers, but each of them has its own rules and characteristics.
Propagation of flowers by seedlings
Planting rudbeckia seedlings is a troublesome task, but it guarantees a good result. Typically, flower growers from the northern regions of the country or those who grow especially valuable varieties of flowers resort to the seedling propagation method.
To decide when to sow rudbeckia for seedlings, it is necessary to take into account the climate in a particular region of the country. By the time the plants are transferred to the ground, the air temperature should stabilize, and the seedlings themselves should have several true leaves.
Experienced gardeners recommend sowing the seeds of “black-eyed” flowers in the spring, because in February there is still too little sunlight - this can lead to the seedlings stretching out
The optimal time for sowing rudbeckia seeds is the end of March or the beginning of April. Then the seedlings can be transferred to the ground in late May or early June, when the threat of frost has completely passed.
Preparation and sowing
Flower seeds collected at home must be prepared for planting. Purchased planting material, as a rule, has already gone through all the necessary stages of preparation and appropriate processing.
The most important thing is to restore the water balance of flower seeds. To do this, planting material must be placed in water at room temperature and kept for about 15-20 hours.
For convenience, before sowing, small flower seeds are mixed with dry river sand. The most common soil for rudbeckia seedlings is needed: a universal purchased substrate or a self-prepared mixture of peat and garden soil will do. The soil is pre-disinfected in any way: watered with a solution of potassium permanganate or copper sulfate, calcined in the oven or frozen outside.
Sowing rudbeckia seeds for seedlings is done as follows:
- Containers for seedlings are selected: plastic containers, wooden boxes, flower pots or peat cups.
- Containers for seedlings are filled with substrate.
- The soil must be watered a day before sowing the seeds.
- Small grooves are made in the soil and rudbeckia seeds are evenly placed in them.
- Now you need to sprinkle the seeds with a thin layer of soil, the thickness of which does not exceed 2-3 mm.
- Cover the containers with plastic wrap and place in a dark place with a temperature of about 16-20 degrees.
Before germination, rudbeckia is not watered - a humid microclimate must be maintained under the film. After two weeks, green sprouts should appear - at this time the film should be removed and the containers should be placed in a brighter place at room temperature.
Seedling care
Caring for flower seedlings is very simple. Rudbeckia needs regular watering after germination, so you should not allow the soil to dry out; you should constantly irrigate the seedlings using a spray bottle.
10-14 days before transplanting to a permanent place, rudbeckia seedlings begin to be hardened by taking them out onto the balcony, veranda or opening a window. At the same time, you can feed the flowers with a mineral complex.
Landing in the ground
The second way to grow flowers is to sow seeds directly into the soil. This is the method most often used by domestic flower growers, because the germination of rudbeckia seeds usually goes well.
But you need to sow the seeds of “black-eyed” flowers a little differently than all the others. The fact is that the right time for sowing rudbeckia is considered to be mid-summer - the period from the end of June to the twentieth of July. Therefore, the plants will begin to bloom only in a year - next summer.
The advantage of this planting is its simplicity, because the gardener does not have to bother with the seedlings. But there is also a significant drawback: rudbeckia from seeds will begin to bloom only next year, which significantly complicates the design of flower beds and flower beds involving this plant.
Sowing seeds in the ground is carried out as follows:
- the soil is first loosened and mineral fertilizers are added to it;
- then make shallow grooves (1.5-2 cm) at an equal distance from each other;
- spread rudbeckia seeds evenly, maintaining the same interval as when planting seedlings in the ground;
- sprinkle flower seeds with a thin layer of dry soil;
- spray the plantings with a spray bottle.
Now the young plants need to be looked after: remove weeds, weed the rows and loosen the soil, regularly water the flowers and thin them out for better development. It is also recommended to feed rudbeckia with complex fertilizers at least twice during the summer.
By autumn, the plants should form a strong rosette of leaves.Rudbeckia needs to be prepared for winter: cut off the rosette at the root and mulch the ground with a five-centimeter layer of peat. In the spring, young shoots will hatch, and in June the rudbeckia will begin to bloom.
Propagation of perennial varieties
Perennial rudbeckia, unlike annual rudbeckia, is recommended to be grown only by sowing seeds in the ground. It is also necessary to sow: at the end of May or in June, when the soil is well warmed up.
Autumn, fully formed rudbeckia bushes need to be plucked, planting them in a permanent place. After this, the flowers are trimmed and mulched so that the roots do not freeze over the winter. The plants will begin to bloom as early as next summer, and for 3-4 seasons they will consistently delight with their lush color.
Conclusion
Rudbeckia is an unpretentious and very colorful flower that is easy to grow and even easier to care for. Photos of flowers are full of bright colors; flower beds with this plant look picturesque and rustic, which is quite consistent with the country trends that are fashionable today.
Rudbeckia is grown from seeds, which you can collect yourself or buy at any flower shop.
