Plant Native: Sweet Coneflower

Plant Native: Sweet Coneflower, Rudbeckia subtomentosa Height: 5-6’ Spread: 2’ Sun: full sun Water: medium to light

This tough, dependable prairie plant deserves a space in any sun-loving garden. It grows naturally in high quality prairies and sometimes in disturbed areas and clearings. It is an upright, clump-forming perennial with graygreen leaves and long, sturdy stems. It blooms over a long period, often during the hottest time of year, from midsummer to early fall. The plants are crowned by glowing yellow, daisy-like flowers to 3” across, with a pleasant sweet smell, similar to sweetgrass. Each flower has a central brownish-purple cone packed with over 200 little nectar tubes. The persistent, deep brown cones remain attractive all fall and winter. It is easy to grow in average, well-drained garden soils and tolerates heavy clay, summer heat and humidity. This is a low maintenance plant, but it may flop and topple if coddled with too much irrigation, fertilizer or shade. The flowers attract butterflies, beneficial wasps, pollinating flies and beetles. The silvery checkerspot butterfly larvae and several species of moths feed on the foliage.

Native plant recommendations from the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, plantnebraska.org