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

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.

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.

Stunning Rudbeckia,..i like the Cherry Brandy and the Cherokee,..very appealing dark colours,..the Double Gold has a lovely contrast,..being Irish i would have to like the Irish Eyes,..and with the green eyes of course,..i had to go check to see were mine still green.