Common Name: coneflower
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Asteraceae
Zone: 3 to 9
Height: 2.00 to 2.50 feet
Spread: 1.50 to 2.00 feet
Bloom Time: July to September
Bloom Description: Yellow
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Flower: Showy, Good Cut
Attracts: Birds, Butterflies
Tolerate: Deer, Drought, Dry Soil
Culture
Best grown in average, evenly moist, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerates hot and humid summers. Tolerates some drought once established. Deadhead spent flowers to encourage additional bloom. May flop and require staking in rich, fertile soils. Divide clumps every 4-5 years to maintain robust growth.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Rudbeckia is a genus of about 20 species of annuals, biennials and perennials from North America. They are grown for their showy, daisy-type flowers which usually feature a dark, central eye of disk florets ringed by yellow ray florets.
Genus name honors Olof Rudbeck (1630-1702) Swedish botanist and founder of the Uppsala Botanic Garden in Sweden where Carl Linnaeus was professor of botany.
'Summerblaze' is a compact upright form of coneflower features daisy-like flowers with yellow rays and dark purple disks. Tolerates hot and humid summers. Prolific bloom production over a long mid-summer to fall bloom period. Good cut flower. Commonly called black-eyed Susan.
Problems
Watch for aphids, powdery mildew, downy mildew, and septoria leaf spot. Susceptible to aster yellows disease.
Uses
This cultivar is very effective mixed with other perennials or massed in bold drifts in the perennial border front, rock garden or meadow. Provides bloom and color for the late summer.