Would you please help identify this Rudbeckia? Thanks. Here is a link that might be useful: Which Rudbeckia?

With carol23's agreement, we should post this when the question about pix is asked - this is a direct quote that carol23 posted before. Worked for me and I appreciate it. It is a needed answer: "The easiest way is to open a free account at Photobucket.com. Upload your pictures there. Copy the HTML line (third line beneath your picture in Photobucket), then paste here [this gardenweb forum] in the message area- not in a link [You can paste multiple pictures regardless of size and you won't see the picture, but computer lingo until you do 'preview' below]. You will be able to post pictures on any other forum, too. After pasting your photos here [this gardenweb forum], you should see them when you hit Âpreview before you post the message." And, by the way, thank you carol23 for this well-guiding answer. Hope my bracketed additons are OK. If this can be worded better, that is requested! hortster

Sherry, I too have been plagued by a small black (with red) type of stink bug or tarnish bug on my snaps. I have only knocked them off the plant into a bucket of soapy water, but there are just too many and I'm not vigilant enough to get them all. If you smash them with your fingers, they smell like cilantro.(I can no longer tolerate cilantro) Is that the bug you have? They are triangular shaped. For some bugs, you can mix up rotenone with water and spray it on your plants. That is ok even if you're organic. I had more bug problems than usual too this year, I thought it was all the moisture we had. Next year won't be much better due to all of the tent catapillar we have everywhere. I hate to think about spraying. If I hear of any other alternative, I'll let you know. Cheryl

Rudbeckia hirta is a tricky plant :-) It can have various manifestations of longevity. It is typically considered a biennial or short lived perennial. A biennial is plant that has a two year lifespan, usually growing a clump of foliage the first year and producing flowers and seeds the second, after which it usually dies. Often R. hirta sold in nurseries in bud or flower are second year plants so they do act as an annual, dying after that first season........OR returning again for another year or two! And they can produce seeds which will seem to prolong their lifespan. Some cultivars are very dependable for returning in the following years, others not so much. FWIW, a great many plants are referred to as annuals, not because they are true annuals with a single growing season lifespan but because they are not hardy enough to winter over in most climates or because they may be biennials offered in their second, flowering year of growth. True annuals will not return, unless from seed dispersed the previous year. Non-hardy perennials sold as annuals and some biennials can return but it depends on the plant itself and where it is growing. As an example, snapdragons - Antirrhinum majus - are short-lived perennials typically sold as annuals, as they are not winter hardy in colder zones. However in my climate, they almost always winter over well and can last for a number of years.