R. hirta is typically a short-lived perennial that lives a few years. While good growing conditions (including well-drained soil) will help prolong its life, a key to having it come back every year is allowing it to reseed, so the following spring you'll have new plants to bring along in case the main plant succumbs over the winter.

Agreed on reseeding. Would be nice to have them follow a similar bigger and bigger clumping habit like 'goldsturm'....

In my neck of the wood, Rudbeckia hirta seldom makes a third year...but yes, it reseeds quite freely.

Rudbeckia hirta seldom makes a third year

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in the world of words mean things...

most of us.. would call that a biennial ... lol ..

and once you accept that word usage ... instead of 'short lived perennial' ...

then your expectations change.. and all of a sudden.. its performing to expectations...

and all is fine in the world ...

sometimes i wonder about marketing people.. who write botanical tags ... crikey ..

NEVER.. trust a tag as your only source of knowledge ...

ken

Yes, Ken, but it can also act as an annual too...it's one of those 'you don't know' things. It may last 1 year (flowering), 2 yrs, or maybe possibly 3.

Of course, if you never let it flower, perhaps it would be a perennial, but what would the point of that be ? :)

But what determines whether r. hirta returns or not? None of the responses answers the OP's question. I've asked this at nurseries also and just get a shrug instead of an answer. Do growing conditions have anything to do with it? Are all r. hirtas short-lived?

Cheryl

If mine dies, it typically dies in late summer. If it makes it to forming the winter rosette, it'll winter over.
The problem is not winter hardiness (for me).

R. hirta is not a perennial in my garden. It usualy is a biennial, i.e. it germinates this year, blooms the next year then dies that fall. I may move seedlings to where I want but for the most part I just let seeds fall and grow wherever they want to grow. Since the seeds are so easy to germinate, I don't try to make it a perennial. I have it in my garden for 28 years now but have not found any to be perennial.

When I was first introduced to r. hirta, it was as an annual. I was pleasantly surprised when some overwintered, but never expected it to.

I was quite surprised when, for the first time, about two or three years ago started seeing these marketed as perennials. I would never pay some of the prices asked for these plants (as perennials) because they just are not reliably long-lived in my area, and besides, they are SO easy to grow from seed for a fraction of the cost.

Dee

Thanks for the responses, especially Cheryl who understands my original question... still wondering what conditions (or WHY) determine the longevity of this species.

Fireweed, from the responses it sounds like r. hirta is an annual with pretensions! My local nursery told me to expect 50% to die after one season, and the rest the next season. This seems to be regardless of conditions, since I was also told that it would grow just about anywhere as long as it got full sun.

My growing conditions are similar to dbarron, except for lower rainfall, so winterkill isn't what kills them off. I guess I need to make sure I find a variety that seeds reliably to get plants in later years. My friendly nurseryman told me that Goldsturm and Indian Summer seeded well.

Cheryl

The issue is not that people do not understand your question. It's that calling R. hirta a perennial is troublesome in itself. Since R. hirta is not a perennial, even though the tag says otherwise, no matter what you do, mulch or no mulch, it is not going to live very long, especially in Canada.

What determines a plant's longivity? Genetics? Climate? Growing conditions? Who knows?

Try R. 'Goldsturm' or R. fulgida. They are perennials if you want long lived Rudbeckia. R. hirta is not going to live long. Period.

I checked the Tom Clothier database and found R. hirta listed as a perennial. Assuming that was accurate (at some point) & a reliable resource, I grew several varieties from seed in 2010, planted them out and enjoyed them. I still get the occasional volunteer but they were definitely short-lived.

Swallowtail Garden Seeds website lists R. hirta on their Annuals page. Whatever they are, annual or perennial, I welcome their generous self-seeding habit & bright faces whenever and wherever they show up in my garden.

Yes, I mulch heavily over recycled corrugated cardboard. I offer no supplemental
water--they get whatever Mother Nature dishes out. Soil is slightly acid, sandy loam. I don't fertilize anything.