Planting Black-Eyed Susan
Black-Eyed Susan is a warm season flower in the Asteraceae family. Getting the timing right is the difference between a strong stand and a disappointing one, so the windows below are given relative to your own last spring frost and first fall frost rather than a generic calendar date. Look up your local frost dates and count back or forward from there.
Black-Eyed Susan is started indoors 6–8 weeks before your last spring frost date, giving seedlings a head start before they move outside.
You can sow Black-Eyed Susan directly into the garden 0–2 weeks before your last frost.
Black-Eyed Susan can be grown by starting indoors and direct sowing. Starting indoors gives the longest, most controlled season, while direct sowing is simplest where the season is long enough.
Spacing and Planting Depth
Give Black-Eyed Susan room to mature. The figures below come from verified extension and seed-supplier data for typical varieties.
| Spacing in row | 12 inches |
|---|---|
| Row spacing | 18 inches |
| Plants per sq ft | 0.67 |
| Planting depth | 0 inches |
| Sun requirement | Full sun |
Days to Maturity
Black-Eyed Susan reaches maturity in 90–120 days from transplant.
Black-Eyed Susan is ready to harvest after about 105 days. Harvest before the first fall frost, which will end the plant's productive season.
Conditions and Care
As a warm-season flower, Black-Eyed Susan needs warm soil and settled weather to thrive, and is set back or killed by frost. It is frost hardy and can shrug off light freezes, so it can stay in the ground later into the season than tender crops.
Black-Eyed Susan needs full sun — give it at least six hours of direct light a day for the best growth and flavor. Sow seed about 0 inches deep — small seed is sown shallow and barely covered, then keep the soil evenly moist until seedlings establish.
Black-Eyed Susan belongs to the Asteraceae family; rotating where you grow members of this family each year helps limit the build-up of soil-borne pests and disease. Black-Eyed Susan is generally grown as a single planting each season rather than succession sown.
Growing Notes
Rudbeckia; surface-sow. Pollinator favorite.