I do give mine a wee bit of help, rather depends on what I want it to go up on. Thunbergia though as stated above will find it's way up anything it can twine around. Depending on what I want the vine on, I use a combination of little pea sticks and fishing line as I do for morning glories for my picket fence. If you're wanting to put it in front of say a privacy type fence you'd have to give it something to twine on. I use a black webbing (totally disappears) to get some annual vine coverage on a few areas of my privacy fence. I use little twisters that are clear plastic covered wires to very loose tie in place as things get started depending on what vine. Never tie tightly though you want nothing that will damage the vine and you have to remember the vine will be getting thicker as it grows.

I grew many rudbeckia cultivars from seed via winter sowing and they've reliably come back season after season, even those I left in gallon pots on my breezeway. I can't vouch for nursery-grown plants but I've not had any issues with winter sown plants. Echinacea/coneflower cultivars haven't been as reliable either in pots or in the ground where I am. The only plants that have returned after several seasons are the species purpurea and the cultivar 'White Swan.' Even winter sown seed-grown cultivars haven't returned after their first season. I guess the answer to your question is that some will survive the winter in pots while others may not. Normally I'm grateful for those that survive and don't let myself be concerned over those that don't. I have an east/west facing breezeway and have noticed that gallon pots of perennials placed at ground level up against the house foundation have reliably survived even a cold, snowy winter season.

Bought them at Home Depot. Says Rudbeckia black-eyed Susan on package. 3 bulbs in the pack for $6.98. Says Blooms THIRD on the package; I don't know what that means. full sun height 24-30"; Blooms late summer/early fall but I don't see anything at all coming thru the soil. I was just wondering if I should be feeding the bulbs now. I have them in a big pot in full sun and water occasionally as I would my other bulbs. Thanks

It's some kind of leaf disease or fungus, I can't remember the exact name. They still bloom, but looks ugly up close. I've started to yank them from my gardens due to the same thing. I do a full cleanup in the fall of all BES, but it hasn't helped curb the disease...so out they go. Such a shame, too, since they offer such a nice end of summer color.