hey mom .... dirt is what is all over your kid.. after you let him play in the soil ... sooner or later ... i never worry about cleansing the soil ... as i would not put the same plant in the same hole .... if there were no alternative.. i might take a couple shovel fulls from that hole.. and replace it with the soil from another place in the yard .... but again.. black spot is not a soil borne problem.. so its probably moot .... all that said... why are you stuck on BES???? if it were me.. i would move on .... there are millions of alternatives.. besides a plant that is prone to black spot ... EVEN IF THEY CLAIM your particular selection is less susceptible ... that doesnt mean its black spot proof ... ken

Must agree with the above. We had so much rain this year and the Echinaceas are only starting to perform now that the rain has stopped. Thought we were going to lose quite a few before then. I must say the garden center Manager did a good job of 'up-selling' the fertilizers to you. I agree with Echinaceamaniac about the MG, and will add that the addition of compost to the soil should have been sufficient to start your plant off in the right direction. There was no need to buy fertilizer unless you knew that your soil was deficient, and from all indications, that was not the case since you say that all other plants in the same bed are doing fine. I would urge you to google the "ironate", do some reading, and then see if you wish to continue using it or dispose of it properly. I hope your plants come through and do well the rest of the season for you. :O)

I have the same thing I hope somebody has an answer

Hi Hollyhocker, I have had trouble with the Gloriosa daisy type of Black Eyed Susans falling over. Also, the goldfinches enjoy them so much that they have broken some of the stems and pulled the flowers apart. A couple of weeks ago I was talking with another gardener in my area about how these flowers seem to be fragile stemmed. He showed me his Gloriosa daisies and then compared them to his Goldsturm Black Eyed Susans. I could hardly believe the differences! The Goldsturm is so strong and bushy! So, I got a large clump from him and it has been in my yard about a week. We have had several days of heavy rain during this last week, and the Goldsturm is standing straight and tall, even with being newly transplanted! I don't know a lot about the various cultivars of rudbeckia, but I'm thrilled that Goldsturm sure seems to be able to take the wind and rain. :) Take care, Katrina