Rudbeckia speciosa var. newmanii

Rudbeckia speciosa var. newmanii is the showy coneflower, a compact, free-flowering black-eyed Susan that many gardeners will know better under the name Rudbeckia fulgida var. speciosa. Smaller, tidier, and even more profuse than the ubiquitous border stalwart 'Goldsturm', the plant covers a neat, clump-forming mound in a long procession of deep gold daisies, each ray fanning out around a dark chocolate-brown central cone from midsummer well into fall.

A native of the eastern United States, the showy coneflower grows wild in open woods, glades, and thickets on both dry and moist ground, adaptable as few garden perennials are. The genus honors the Swedish botanists Olof Rudbeck, father and son, teachers of Linnaeus, while speciosa, showy, and the old varietal name newmanii both point to the generous, brilliant bloom. Older catalogs and gardens have carried the plant under a tangle of names, among them Rudbeckia speciosa, Rudbeckia newmanii, and Rudbeckia fulgida var. speciosa, all one and the same cheerful native.

In the garden, the showy coneflower belongs at the front or middle of a sunny border, in a meadow or prairie planting, or massed as a groundcover of gold, where the long bloom feeds bees and butterflies and the standing seed heads carry finches through winter. The clump-forming habit stays where the plant is set rather than running, and the flowers cut well for the vase. Pair with asters, salvias, ornamental grasses, and sedums for a classic late-season combination.

Robust, disease-resistant, and forgiving, the showy coneflower takes full sun or part shade and a moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil, blooming most heavily in sun and tolerating drought once established. Butterflies work the flowers all season, and deer and rabbits tend to pass the plant by. Leave the seed heads for winter, cut the old stems in late winter, and divide an old clump every few years to keep the bloom generous.