Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida)

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Black-eyed Susan

Habit (mature) · Cultivar 'Goldsturm' · Dominicus Johannes Bergsma / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Limited coverage

Black-eyed Susan

Rudbeckia fulgida

A tough, bright perennial for sunny borders, pollinator patches, and late-summer color.

Native: 27 US states

Review: Source-backed

Climate fit: broad (84/100)

Pollinator

Filler

Border

Light

Full sun / Part sun

Water

Moderate water

Mature size

24-36" tall · 18" apart

Hardy in zones

3a-9b

brutally cold to frosty winters

Summer heat range

Mild-Hot

mild to hot summers Interim Plotwright tier until the plant AHS range is authored.

Native in Illinois

Yes

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Watering and irrigation

Watering cans, soaker hoses, drip kits, moisture meters, and timers.

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Heat and sun protection

Shade cloth, shade hoops, cooling mulch, and heat-stress monitoring tools.

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Drainage and aeration

Perlite, pumice, raised-bed mix, aerators, and drainage-focused containers.

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Transplanting and establishment

Trowels, transplant spades, starter fertilizer, root stimulators, and watering bags.

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Fertility and feeding

Compost, balanced fertilizer, slow-release plant food, and organic amendments.

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Pest and disease monitoring

Sticky traps, hand lenses, sprayers, disease-monitoring tools, and pest barriers.

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A documented larval host for the Silvery checkerspot — caterpillars feed on its foliage before becoming the next generation.

Wildlife relationships

Cold hardiness

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Chicago, IL · 1991-2020 average annual coldest day

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Well-suited

2050

Zone 7b

Plotwright

Your zone + climate-model shift · SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry)

Well-suited

In plain terms: cold winters — coldest nights typically around -3°F.

✓

Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.

Heat tolerance

°C

°F

Loading current AHS heat-zone and plant heat-fit data at your coordinates…

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 41 ecoregions — 40 climate-resilient through 2070 · 1 suited today. Best matches first.

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

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Arizona Mountains forests

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Atlantic coastal pine barrens

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Blue Mountains forests

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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests

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Central Tallgrass prairie

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Central-Southern Cascades Forests

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Chilean Matorral

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Appears in collections

Collection · 8 plants

Climate-resilient natives for warming zones (eastern NA)

A pollinator-supporting palette of eastern NA natives whose USDA zone range and broad continental distribution score high on the climate-resilience composite. Every plant tolerates 6-7 USDA zones and is native across 15+ US states + multiple Canadian provinces. Holds up under the SSP3-7.0 mid-century projection without the gardener trading wildlife value for resilience.

Switchgrass

Little bluestem

Common milkweed

Black-eyed Susan

Wild bergamot

Sweet Joe-Pye weed

Cutleaf coneflower

New England aster

Collection · 4 plants

Sunny pollinator border

A durable sunny border with summer bloom, seedheads, and upright winter texture.

English lavender