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Having moved to North America, the Europeans immediately noticed the bright flowers growing in the forests with a black center. They named the plant “Suzanne’s Black Eyes” and began to grow it in their gardens, gradually cultivating and breeding new varieties. Once in Europe, the flower was named “rudbeckia”, in honor of a famous botanist. Since then, the plant has managed to gain popularity in almost all countries of the world, rudbeckia is constantly selected and more and more new varieties and hybrids are being bred. There are both annual flowers and varieties with a lifespan of two or more 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. It will also talk about the most famous plant varieties and give a brief description of the species.
Characteristics of the plant
Rudbeckia is very actively used in the design of gardens and plots, landscape designers love it, the flower is suitable for making 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. Usually 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, covered with a 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 rudbeckia is their variegated coloring, these flowers can be painted in:
- yellow uniform shade;
- Orange;
- golden yellow;
- red;
- red brown;
- various shades of brown.
There are rudbeckias with inflorescences of other shades, but they are quite rare and belong to expensive elite varieties.
Common species and varieties
Rudbeckia is usually classified into groups of annual and perennial plants. Each group has several species and dozens of varieties, all of which have distinctive features.
The most famous types of rudbeck in Our Country:
- embracing. This is an annual plant that blooms from early summer until the first frost. The species got its name because of the petals lowered down, as if clasping a powerful stem. The leaves of this variety are large, flower baskets are also pleasing in large sizes – the plant looks very impressive in group plantings.
- hairy black-eyed beauty can be grown both as an annual and as a biennial plant. This species can also be called hairy. A feature of these flowers is the remarkable height of the bush – almost all varieties reach more than a meter in height. Baskets of inflorescences are painted in rich yellow, and their centers are brown.
- Dissected Rudbeckia is a perennial, it blooms from July to August. The most common variety is the “Golden Ball”.
- Glossy variety also refers to perennials. Its flowering continues from early July to late August. You can recognize the flowers of this species by the clarified middle.
- У 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 rudbecks:
- Golden Ray;
- Amber;
- Marmalade;
- Cherry Brandy (rare cultivar with carmine red flowers);
- Mocha.
All of these varieties are propagated by seeds, which the grower can purchase at a flower shop or collect on their own from their flower beds.
Reproduction of annuals
Unlike perennials, all annual flowers can be propagated exclusively by seeds. And here There are two ways of growing: seedling and planting seeds in the ground. Both of these methods are successfully used by flower growers, but each of them has its own rules and characteristics.
Propagation of flowers by seedlings
Planting rudbeckia for seedlings is troublesome, but guarantees a good result. Usually flower growers from the northern regions of the country or those who grow especially valuable varieties of flowers resort to the seedling method of reproduction.
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 several true leaves should appear near the seedlings themselves.
Experienced flower growers recommend sowing the seeds of “black-eyed” flowers in the spring, because in February there is still too little sunlight – this can lead to seedlings stretching
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 the last days of 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 passed 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 is suitable. 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.
- Seedling containers are filled with substrate.
- The earth must be watered the day before sowing seeds.
- Small grooves are made in the soil and rudbeckia seeds are evenly laid out 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 with room temperature.
Care of seedlings
Caring for seedlings is very easy. Rudbeckia after germination needs regular watering, so you do not need to allow the soil to dry out, you should constantly irrigate the seedlings using a spray gun.
10-14 days before transplanting to a permanent place, seedlings of rudbeckia begin to harden, taking it out to a 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 ground. It is this method that domestic flower growers most often use, because the germination of rudbeckia seeds usually goes well.
It’s just that you need to sow the seeds of “black-eyed” flowers a little differently than everyone else. The fact is that the middle of summer is considered the right time for sowing rudbecky – the period from the end of June to the twentieth of July. Therefore, plants will begin to bloom only in a year – next summer..
The advantage of this planting is its simplicity, because the grower does not have to mess with seedlings. But there is also a significant disadvantage: rudbeckia from seeds will begin to bloom only next year, which greatly complicates the design of flower beds and flower beds with the participation of this plant.
Sowing seeds in the ground is carried out as follows:
- the soil is pre-loosened and mineral fertilizers are added to it;
- then make shallow grooves (1,5-2 cm) at an equal distance from each other;
- rudbecky seeds are evenly laid out, maintaining the same interval as when planting seedlings in the ground;
- sprinkle flower seeds with a thin layer of dry soil;
- spray plantings from a spray bottle.
Now you need to take care of young plants: remove weeds, weed between 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 a summer.
By autumn, the plants should form a strong rosette of leaves. Rudbeckia need to be prepared for winter: cut off the outlet at the root and mulch the ground with a five-centimeter layer of peat. In the spring, young sprouts will hatch, and in June the rudbeckia will begin to bloom.
Reproduction of perennial varieties
Perennial rudbeckia, unlike annual, 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 warms up well.
Autumn, fully formed rudbeckia bushes must be dived, planting them in a permanent place. After that, the flowers are cut and mulched so that the roots do not freeze out during the winter. Plants will begin to bloom from 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.
They grow rudbeckia from seeds, which can be harvested on their own or bought at any flower shop.
