Rudbeckia triloba

‘Prairie Glow’

BROWN EYED SUSAN

No WA

Rudbeckia triloba ‘Prairie Glow’
BROWN EYED SUSAN

Rudbeckia triloba ‘Prairie Glow’ blooms with masses of dainty star flowers, each with a chocolate cone.
Not listed for entry to WA

Hovering clouds of tiny bright stars 

‘Prairie Glow’ really does glow.
Making hovering clouds of tiny flowers of deep, rich red, each petal tipped with gold.
Yes each flower is tiny, but there are masses of them – so they make a really telling statement in an airy way.

Each with a chocolate cone

While each little star is set with a tiny chocolate central cone – so they are very eye-catching en-masse.

Clouds of late season colour

Rudbeckia triloba ‘Prairie Glow’ begins to bloom in the middle of summer – when other colour can be scarce.
Then continues blooming in bright clouds through summer, autumn, and right up to the frosts of winter.

Constellations of stars really do hover – on chocolate wire stems

The little blooms are held on wiry strong, but fine stems, so they hover like a constellation of stars.
These branching stems are deep, chocolate brown, and so add to the overall colour effect, together with the chocolate cones and vivid petals.
‘Prairie Glow’ looks great planted to froth up and fill amongst other flowers that have perhaps finished blooming by mid-summer.

Long lasting floristry flowers

Rudbeckia triloba ‘Prairie Glow’ also makes a brilliant filler for floristry, in vases and bouquets. As it gives great contrast of both colour and texture.
Blooms have a long vase life, and the wiry, branching, clean stems make it easy to work with.

Constant & repeat blooming over summer & autumn

Plus the more you cut the more they bloom.
‘Prairie Glow’ provides constant clouds of colour, for both garden and vase, continuously through summer and autumn.

Evergreen groundcover over winter

Then at the end of autumn you slash all the stems back to the ground and the evergreen foliage carpet remains as a groundcover over winter.

Hardy in dry & heat

Rudbeckia triloba ‘Prairie Glow’ is a wonderfully dry and heat hardy perennial – so it can easily handle positions in full sun and hot summers.
Though it will also grow and flower well in part shade if necessary.
However it is not suitable for more heavily shaded sites, as it will become too leggy and flop over.

Water-wise & drought tolerant

Once it is established, ‘Prairie Glow’ is very heat tolerant, and also able to tolerate periods of dry between drinks.
So it is particularly recommended for water-wise gardens and those on limited water supply.
Average garden watering is simply heaven to ‘Prairie Glow’.

Can also handle summer humidity

Because of a wide native range – from north to south of the eastern states of USA, including right down to Florida and Texas – this tough plant takes summer heat combined humidity, without flinching.

Handles a wide range of soils – from sandy to clay

This garden trooper will also make a go of it in a wide range of soils.
Including sandy coastal, gravel, stony, good garden loam (but don’t overfeed it), and clay.
It is also well adapted to a wide range of soil pH, from acid to alkaline.

Easy, low maintenance

‘Prairie Glow’ is particularly disease resistant and not usually prone to any garden pests.
It is a very easy plant to grow, with no maintenance required until the early winter chop to the ground – just to tidy up the spent flower branches.

Deer & rabbit resistant

While nothing is completely immune when rabbits and deer are starving, Rudbeckia triloba is low on their menu choice.

Self-sowing perennial

Rudbeckia triloba ‘Prairie Glow’ is a great survivor.
Each plant is actually a short-lived perennial (2-3 years), but also self-sows new plants in the spot each year – so you have a constant procession of fresh plants each year amongst the parent.
Any unwanted volunteers are easily weeded out. It is not invasive.
90cm. High in frothy flower (but flat groundcover over winter) x 60cm. Wide mat of foliage.

But leave some winter seeds for the birds

You can deadhead the spent flower branches if you don’t want more generations of ‘Prairie Glow’.
But native seed eating birds like Finches love the seed heads for winter fodder – so it is a kindness to leave some for the birds.

SEED SOWING ADVICE: QUICK & EASY

Suits beginners & gardening with kids

Sow all year in punnets indoors, whenever suitable temperatures are available.
OR
Scatter directly in the garden in early spring.

Sow indoors for quick & early plants: First sow the seeds in a punnet on the surface of good quality seed raising mix.
Then pat gently to the surface to ensure good contact.
Now barely cover the seed with sieved mix / vermiculite / or fine sandy grit.
Because these seeds need light to germinate, so do not bury them.

Now thoroughly moisten the sown punnet by standing in a shallow water bath.
And allowing the moisture to percolate up to the surface from below.

Chilling is not essential, but germination rate will be enhanced if the moist, sown punnet is chilled for 30 days first.
So wrap the punnet in cling-wrap / plastic bag, and place in the fridge (not freezer) for 30 days.
Then remove, unwrap and moisten again.

Now place the punnet in a warm, well-lit position (not in any direct sun).
You can use a heat mat if you have one, or a warm window sill (out of the sun).

Temperatures of 20-24°C approx. are best for rapid and optimum germination.

Continue to keep moist by misting from a spray water bottle as required.
Covering the punnet with a clear plastic lid also helps to maintain consistent moisture.

Seedlings emerge in approx. 10-15 days.

Seed Count: 10 seeds per pack approx.
(We always aim to exceed the stated seed count and give a generous serve).

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