previous
  • Make a Succulent Topiary
    Make a Succulent Topiary
  • Garden Confidential: A Plant Walks into a Bar
    Garden Confidential: A Plant Walks into a Bar
  • 6 Tips for Weed Control
    6 Tips for Weed Control
  • Homegrown / Homemade
    Homegrown / Homemade
  • Colorful Selections for Shade
    Colorful Selections for Shade
  • NEW Video Series: There's a Better Way
    NEW Video Series: There's a Better Way
  • Save Money by Growing Your Own
    Save Money by Growing Your Own
  • Indeterminate or Determinate Tomatoes?
    Indeterminate or Determinate Tomatoes?
  • Mulch for a Healthy Garden
    Mulch for a Healthy Garden
  • Fragrant Plants for Pathways
    Fragrant Plants for Pathways
  • Slideshow: Beautiful Clematis
    Slideshow: Beautiful Clematis
  • Comfortable Alfresco Dining
    Comfortable Alfresco Dining
  • Building a Compost Bin
    Building a Compost Bin
  • Dwarf Citrus Trees
    Dwarf Citrus Trees
  • Designing with Curved Terraces
    Designing with Curved Terraces
  • Lawn Alternatives
    Lawn Alternatives
  • Plants that Spark!
    Plants that Spark!
  • Elephant's Ears
    Elephant's Ears
  • Plant an Easy-to-Water Strawberry Jar
    Plant an Easy-to-Water Strawberry Jar
  • Pretty in Pink
    Pretty in Pink
  • Fast-Growing Trees for Impatient Gardeners
    Fast-Growing Trees for Impatient Gardeners
  • Containers as Focal Points
    Containers as Focal Points
  • In Pursuit of the Perfect Potting Shed
    In Pursuit of the Perfect Potting Shed
  • Thoughts From a Foreign Field
    Thoughts From a Foreign Field
  • Stylish Shady Containers
    Stylish Shady Containers
next
Find a plant:

OR Browse All Plants


Rudbeckia maxima (Giant coneflower, Black-eyed Susan)

Rudbeckia maxima Photo/Illustration: Amy Fahmy


Be the first to rate this plant

Plant Showcase - from our advertisers


Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Botanical Name:Rudbeckia maxima rud-BEK-ee-ah MAKS-ih-mah Common Name: Giant coneflower, Black-eyed Susan Genus: Rudbeckia
This choice species makes a strong vertical statement with its large, smooth, sea-green leaves and towering stems to 6 feet tall. It bears short, yellow ray florets with giant, upright cones at the center. It prefers average soil with good drainage, and is excellent in native or wild plantings.
 Noteworthy characteristics: Rudbeckias hail from the moist meadows and dappled woods of North America. They are suitable for mixed borders, meadows, native gardens, open woods, and large annual displays. 
 Care: Grow in average, slightly heavy but well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade.
 Propagation: Sow seed in a cold frame in early spring, or divide plants in spring or fall.
 Problems: Aphids, powdery mildew, smut, rust, Ramularia and Septoria leaf spots, snails, slugs.
Height 3 ft. to 6 ft.
Spread 1 ft. to 3 ft.
Growth Habit Clumps
Growth Pace Moderate Grower
Light Full Sun to Part Shade
Moisture Medium Moisture
Maintenance Low
Characteristics Attracts Birds; Attracts Butterflies; Native; Self Seeds; Showy Flowers; Showy Foliage; Showy Seed Heads
Bloom Time Fall; Summer
Flower Color Brown Flower; Yellow Flower
Uses Beds and Borders, Cut Flower, Naturalizing, Roadside
Style Cottage Garden, Meadow Garden
Seasonal Interest Summer Interest, Fall Interest
Type Perennials

Plants you might also like

Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii 'Goldsturm' Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii 'Goldsturm'
(Orange Coneflower, Black-eyed Susan) (12 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Large flowers consisting of brassy orange-yellow rays surrounding brown cones are what make this plant so popular. It blooms for 7 or 8 weeks beginning in midsummer. The flowers top 18- to 30-inch-tall plants that will readily self sow in cultivated soils. 
Rudbeckia subtomentosa Rudbeckia subtomentosa
(Sweet coneflower) (1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This dignified U.S. native species has downy leaves and bears clusters of luminous clear-yellow flowers with reddish-brown center cones. It blooms for over a month starting in mid- to late-summer.
Echinacea purpurea Echinacea purpurea
(Purple coneflower) (2 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Because of its carefree performance, this native meadow perennial with daisy-like flowers appropriately inhabits the gardens of many. It blooms from midsummer into early autumn, with prominent, copper-orange central cones surrounded by rose-purple, ray petals (to 5 inches across).
Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus' Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus'
(Purple coneflower) (12 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This native meadow derivative has vibrant, daisy-like flowers that bloom from midsummer into early autumn. Its prominent, dark orange central cones are surrounded by larger (to 7 inches across) and more horizontal, reddish-pink, ray petals than the species.
Echinacea purpurea ‘Bright Star’ Echinacea purpurea ‘Bright Star’
(Purple coneflower) Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This native meadow derivative with daisy-like flowers blooms from early summer into early autumn. 'Bright Star' has prominent, copper-orange central cones surrounded by red-purple ray petals (to 5 inches across), and grows to less than 3 feet tall.