Hirtas act like annuals in my garden. They reseed and sprout in early spring, producing huge plants of varying flower colors and patterns by the end of June (right now!) I weed out what I don't want (some are very wilted, too floppy or deformed, or are growing where I don't want them). They never cease to surprise me with their variety of color. Most die after flowering and setting seed, all in one season. Occasionally, one will come back the next year.

My goldsturms also self-sow, but they always come true... different plant entirely (leaves are smooth, not fuzzy like hirta.)

A half hardy perennial or tender perennial is a plant that is perennial in warmer climates, but dies in colder places. Some may survive a mild winter but may not live through another winter with different conditions.

A biennial sets its basal leaves one year and puts up a flower stalk the next year and then dies. Some may live another year.

I goofed in the above post. My goldsturms don't self-sow...they spread like crazy, sometimes many feet away from the parent plant. Sorry...early morning fog.

Here it is.... it is rudbeckia hirta 'sutumn colors' right?
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Yes that's it. They are so gorgeous. I have the exact same situation as susanzone5.

I bought my 'Autumn Colors' plant in 2003 and it has since reseeded itself every year all over my garden. In fact I have too many now and I often trim them back. (I currently have 3 huge bouquets in my house and the garden is still packed with them!)

However, the flowers now, compared to when I bought the plant, are very different. They are smaller and have less autumn coloring overall. Some flowerheads are now pure gold. They are still gorgeous but the first year's flowers were my favorite.

The plants are so tall that last week's bad thunderstorm knocked 99% of them over. They're still alive and flourishing but they're now mostly horizontal with the flowerheads bent up toward the sky.

I also have perennial 'black-eyed susan' which is Rudbeckia fulgida, with smooth foliage and small thin-petaled gold coneflowers, which are not yet blooming. They will be blooming later this month or next. That grows & spreads like crazy underground, as well as a few seeded new ones here and there. Those plants are nice and sturdy in mostly neat rounded mounds.