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Butterfly Garden

Rudbeckia hirta, nectar plant?

15 years ago

I've read that Rudbeckia Hirta is a nectar source for butterflies. I've grown this species for 4 years now, and almost never see butterflies at the flowers. Though I do keep a large zinnia patch in the yard... I was wondering if anyone else can confirm the webpages I've seen list it as a nectar plant.

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Comments (5)

ladobe
15 years ago
Can't say that I've ever noticed it as a good nectar source for lepidoptera, but it is a larval food plant for some of the Chlosyne species.
caterwallin
15 years ago
I'm in PA also. I had Rudbeckia hirta planted here but never saw any butterflies on it at all, so I ripped mine out. I didn't like that it was so invasive either. It was here anyway.
Cathy
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Hi Kate, I grew this from seed last year and loved it! However, I used mine for cut flowers, so I didn't notice any reseeding. I also did not have any plants come back for me. But up the street at a local farm, there is a huge clump of it that is gorgeous. I did mention it to the farmer, and we discussed it briefly, but I can't remember if she said it was a plant that came back or if she thinks it reseeded. It did bloom earlier than my newly-seed-grown ones this year, which are just now starting to bloom (hers has been in bloom for 3 weeks, at least. Either way, it was huge and beautiful. This year I will let a few flowers go to seed and see what comes back for me. :) Dee
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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.
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kr222
15 years ago
I'm also in PA. I have 'Goldsturm' in my garden (Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii 'Goldsturm'). It blooms well, but no butterflies. It's a huge disappointment in that regards, so all but two were pulled and are being replaced this season with something more butterfly friendly.
Kim
butterflymomok
15 years ago
I have Rudbeckia, don't know the variety. I get Silvery Checkerspot larvae on mine. I don't see any BF activity, but I planted it as a host plant.
avid_gardener
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks everyone. We have Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis) in our area. I see it occasionally flying around the yard, but never thought to look for caterpillars on the Rudbeckia. I also have the host plants of sunflowers and wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia) that it is reported to use.

The American Goldfinches eat seed from the Rudbeckia Hirta seed heads in the winter and knock alot of the seed over the yard. (plus I've mowed some down which probably did more to spread it) I have soil that I imagine is 99% clay so black eyed susans are coming up all over. I'll take a look this summer for the caterpillars.

I've read that the Rudbeckia Hirta is drought tolerant, and although they seem to survive, they don't live very long. I had some come amongst my swamp milkweed before I added mulch, and they just grew and grew. I tried cutting them back, since I didn't want to disturb the milkweed roots by attempting dig or pull them up. Rather than slow them down, they only branched 10x and wound up with just as tall but bushier. I guess, what I'm trying to say is that it's drought tolerant character is often mentioned, but I've never seen it mentioned how well they perform with regular watering, and even pinching.

As I recall the only times I've seen butterflies at the flowers, they were visiting the larger of the flowers. ~ I wonder if the plants need to be regularly watered to get the large blossoms in order to attract butterflies. I've seen this with my Cosmos Bipinnatus, that the butterflies seem to ignore all but the largest blossoms.

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