Usually they are considered short lived perennials. All of my black eyed susans reseed readily and pop up all over the garden so I've not needed to purchase more.

Just a heads up, Home Depot has a lot of plants that are treated with neonecticides, that will kill butterflies and bees. There should be a tag in the pot if it was treated, but sometimes they are missing or get removed by customers. You may or may not care, but I was really upset when I had purchased plants from HD and had to remove them from my garden.

I think it came with one of those tags :-/. How does that work? Is it something in the soil or is it topical and will wear off eventually?

I am not 100% sure on that, I only know a little bit from what I read. I have read some stuff that says that it can be applied from seed and stays with the plant year after year but I don't have anything to back it up. Just wanted to share with you the little bit I do know since I ran into the same issue at HD.

So as a verdict.....should I just divide this guy into 2 or 3 chunks, get it in ground, and maybe help it spread by saving some seeds from the dried flower heads? Should I just toss them on the ground near where I want them, or should I try to bring them inside and germinate them in the spring. I typically never mess with annuals (or short lived perennial that spreads mostly through reseeding...heh), so this is a bit new to me. Or should I just leave it on the plant and let it do its thing?

Thanks in advance!

I would take Karin's suggestion to heart. They are very easy to grow from seed, no reason to keep a plant that you know is harming pollinators that are struggling as it is.

I have some seeds I could send you if you decide to go that route.

If you are dissatisfied with the plant, you can return it to HD if you have the receipt, or if you bought it with a debit or credit card within the last 90 days. (HD plants can be returned for one full year, so the receipt or card is needed to prove the date of purchase.)

Neonicotinoid pesticides are systemic; although they are used as a seed coating in some cases, they are widely used in the nursery industry as a foliar spray or soil drench. The insecticide is taken up into the tissues of the plant and is present for a very long time. Months or longer, depending on who you ask.

My recollection is that HD, and some other retailers, are looking to ban plants treated with neonics if possible. In the meantime, they are requiring that plants so treated by the grower be labeled. Please note that HD does not treat the plants with the pesticides, the growers do it. Those same growers also sell to many independent garden centers, which may or may not have the same labeling requirements! So you could still be getting a toxic plant.

If 'Cherokee Sunset' is a F1 hybrid, do not expect the seeds to "come true" - they may/probably will revert or may be sterile. I've never tried growing these from seed, maybe someone else has. If you're debating about when to sow, I would suggest winter sowing at least some of them - check the Winter Sowing forum for details if you are not already familiar with this wonderful technique.