woodland wildflower

Sweet black-eyed Susan

Rudbeckia subtomentosa

Also known as Sweet Coneflower

Native to the Midwest, the Great Plains, and the Southeast

Indiana to Louisiana, west to Wisconsin, Iowa and Oklahoma

Light Partial shade Sun tolerance
Moisture Moist Moisture preference
Zones 4–9 Cold to heat range
Bloom Jul–Sep Flowering time
Height up to 6 ft to 1.8 m
Life cycle Perennial Annual to perennial

Full details, see below

In the garden

A woodland wildflower for partial shade and evenly moist soil. At up to 6 ft, it needs room in shade gardens and woodland edges. Hardy in USDA zones 4–9.

Growing conditions

Light

Full sun Partial shade Full shade

Moisture

Dry Moist Wet

Hardiness zones

Find your zone:

Pollinators & wildlife

Bees Common Eastern Bumble Bee

also Western Honey Bee, Eastern Carpenter Bee, Brown-belted Bumble Bee +32 more
Ligated Furrow Bee, Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee, Pure Green Sweat bee, Red-belted Bumble Bee, Dark-veined Longhorn Bee, Bristle Sweat Bee, Rugose-chested Sweat Bee, Parallel-striped Sweat Bee, Megachile inimica, Petulant Leafcutter Bee, Megachile brevis, Ceratina dupla, Experienced Sweat Bee, Nomada affabilis, Tickseed Longhorn Bee, white-winged sweat bee, Sunflower Burrowing-Resin bee, Andrena miserabilis, Eucera belfragei, Yellow-spotted Cuckoo Nomad Bee, Melissodes dentiventris, Megachile pyrrhothorax, Drury's Long-horned Bee, Lunate Longhorn-cuckoo Bee, Lasioglossum coreopsis, Svastra obliqua, Two-banded Cellophane-cuckoo Bee, Zephyr Sweat Bee, Pseudopanurgus albitarsis, Pseudopanurgus rudbeckiae, Pseudopanurgus solidaginis, Svastra petulca
Flower flies Margined Calligrapher

also Eastern Calligrapher, Transverse-banded Flower Fly, Thick-legged Hover Fly +15 more
Yellow-shouldered Drone Fly, Northern Plushback, Band-winged Bee Fly, Wavy Mucksucker, Adorned Bee Fly, Toxophora amphitea, Eastern Catkin Fly, Epistrophe emarginata, Sphaerophoria cylindricus, grasshopper bee fly, Flea Bee-fly, Poecilognathus sulphurea, Maize Calligrapher, Phthiria aldrichi, Scaly Bee Fly
Moths Yellow-collared Scape Moth

also Lucerne Moth, Corn Earworm Moth, Eight-spotted Forester Moth +6 more
Small Bird-dropping Moth, Curve-lined Bird-dropping Moth, Ambiguous Moth, Celery Leaftier Moth, Olive-shaded Bird-dropping Moth, Tersa Sphinx
Also visited by
- Butterflies:
  
  Pearl Crescent, Viceroy +6 more
  Checkered White, Horace's Duskywing, Dun Skipper, Red-banded Hairstreak, Silvery Checkerspot, Elkalyce comyntas
- Beetles:
  
  Goldenrod Soldier Beetle, Slender Flower Longhorn Beetle +3 more
  Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus, Chlorophorus glaucus, Sutured Longhorn Beetle
- Wasps: Euodynerus hidalgo boreoorientalis

Butterflies that use this plant

Documented host and nectar records. Each links to a planting guide for that butterfly.

Full plant details

Where it grows

Habitat: WoodlandThe wild plant community it grows in.
Native range: The Midwest, the Great Plains, and the SoutheastUnited States (13): AR, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MO, MS, OK, TN, TX, WI. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
Native distribution: Indiana to Louisiana, west to Wisconsin, Iowa and OklahomaThe same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.

Growing conditions

Light: Partial shadeHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
Moisture: MoistThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
Hardiness zones: USDA 4–9 · Canadian 5–7The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
Soil: Moist soilsThe soils it grows in naturally.

Growth & form

Height: up to 6 ft (to 1.8 m)Typical mature height.
Life cycle: PerennialWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).

Flowers, foliage & fruit

Type: WildflowerWhat kind of plant it is.
Bloom: Jul–SepWhen it flowers.
Flower color: YellowThe bloom color, or colors.
Fruit/Seeds: AcheneThe seed or fruit it sets after flowering.
Toxicity: None knownWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.