We planted a magnolia tree out here as they were so beautiful there & no dogwoods here so the magnolia was next best thing, well it got burnt looking leaves & they were mostly on the ground, we took it out & next door neighbor got 1 so I get to pick up their leaves as they blow over the fence. It does have the pretty flowers high up & I get to enjoy them. They are about 6-7 in across & mostly white.Don't know what kind they are . Your's don't constantly shed the leaves do they?? Oh yes I remember the beautiful rhododendrons & have seen pics of some park in the South that has lots of them in several colors with lots of lawn. Can't remember where. My azalea just had a few blooms on it-wrong time of yr,they bloom in spring. All my spring bulbs are up too so will flower by xmas I suppose. Never know what to expect out here.Jan

Nj, if I've got it right, you are planning a higher-6" to 8"-mowing just for this coming growing season, and perhaps the one following, to interupt weed seed cycles. IF that is so, it is indeed a normal part of meadow establishment. I guess to answer your question, the only one that will flower despite this early-stage mowing is what you've already identified-Rudbeckia hirta. Not saying none of these others won't also, just that in my experience R. hirta is one that can be dependably counted on to flower despite these early-stage mowings. The thing I'm not getting though is the presence of the tree and shrub species within this mix. Not at all saying I don't like them, just I don't see how you can have a meadow in which woody plants are purposely part of the mix. Are you intending to have these woody species around the perimeter? That could work. Then, once you've got your meadow up and running, fire is the best tool, but timely mowing can and often does suffice, depending on other circumstances. Or, one can purposely let the meadow undergo natural succession. That's what happens in nature, in areas of the country like yours and mine which were formerly primarily forested. Meadows would indeed exist, but as a seral stage following a disturbance of some kind. When we create these things, we have to bring the disturbance to them if we want it to remain as meadow, prairie, etc. Quite an extensive plant list BTW. +oM

There are 5 other ones that are flowering but I don’t think I saw any ones that looks different than the one in the pic. Surprised how they could all be male since they were started from seed. Are most species just male or was the probability just random?

Floral. As you say Pawlonia is a tree. There was a plantation near my place in Queensland. Very fast growing trees. peren. As a kid, i'm now 76, one of the soft drinks was dandelion & burdock, along with orangade, lemonade and others. Looking on wiki it seems it is similar to the sarsaparilla and root beers found on your side of the pond. I wouldn't call it wine, but I suspect it was slightly alcoholic, as it was made from the lightly fermented roots of the 2 plants. Surprising what one learns when looking up something else. :-)))