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Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida var. deamii)

from $8.99

Botanical name: Rudbeckia fulgida‍ • Bloom season: Midsummer to fall‍ • Bloom color: Golden yellow with a dark chocolate cone‍ • Pollinator value: Broad nectar and pollen appeal for native bees and butterflies; seed heads feed finches into winter‍ • Host plant: Silvery checkerspot

Golden petals with a dark chocolate center, blooming from midsummer until frost on a plant that branches wide rather than standing stiffly upright. The important difference from the black-eyed Susan is its lifespan: it is a genuinely long-lived perennial that comes back heavier each year. Another advantage is foliage that stays clean and green through the season.

Botanical name: Rudbeckia fulgida‍ • Bloom season: Midsummer to fall‍ • Bloom color: Golden yellow with a dark chocolate cone‍ • Pollinator value: Broad nectar and pollen appeal for native bees and butterflies; seed heads feed finches into winter‍ • Host plant: Silvery checkerspot

Golden petals with a dark chocolate center, blooming from midsummer until frost on a plant that branches wide rather than standing stiffly upright. The important difference from the black-eyed Susan is its lifespan: it is a genuinely long-lived perennial that comes back heavier each year. Another advantage is foliage that stays clean and green through the season.

Size:

Plant Characteristics

Botanical Name: Alcea rosea

Common Name: Hollyhock

Native: Non-native

Native Region: Not native to North America; origin Southwest Asia; long in garden cultivation

Sun: Full Sun

Water: Moderate

Bloom Time: Summer

Bloom Color: Variety

Pollinators: Bees; Butterflies; Hummingbirds

Host Plant: Painted lady, Common checkered-skipper

Mature Size: W 1'-2' x H 5'-8'

Soil: Rich, well-drained; needs steady moisture and shelter from wind

Pollinator Value: Deep flowers favored by bumble bees; larval host for painted lady and common checkered-skipper

Plant Type: Short-lived perennial or biennial

USDA Zones: 3 to 8

Spread Habit: Self-sows

Available As: Live plant

Growing Notes

Full sun and shelter from wind, which is the limiting factor here more than soil or cold: an unstaked hollyhock in an exposed Northern Nevada yard will snap. Plant it against a fence or a wall. Give it steady water. Space about 18 inches apart.

  • Water: Moderate

  • Sun: Full Sun

  • Soil: Rich, well-drained; needs steady moisture and shelter from wind

  • Mature size: W 1'-2' x H 5'-8'

Maintenance

Let some seed drop if you want it to persist, since individual plants are short-lived and often die after flowering. Cut the stalks down once the seed has shed. Hollyhock rust shows up as orange spots on the leaf undersides; pull affected leaves as they appear, clear all the debris in fall, and water at the base rather than overhead. Rust is disfiguring rather than fatal, but it spreads on wet foliage.