Rudbeckia subtomentosa 'Henry Eilers'

3/30/2022 3:59 pm

Rudbeckia subtomentosa ‘Henry Eilers’

 

 

 

Rudbeckia subtomentosa ‘Henry Eilers’ is such an amazing performer that it has displaced all other Rudbeckias from my interest.  In addition to having a long bloom period, it is visually stunning.  It is a prolific bloomer and seems impervious to disease like downy mildew and leaf spot that affect other Rudbeckias like Goldsturm.

 

If it has a flaw, it is that it can grow tall and need staking.  However, with a little preventative maintenance — an early summer chop like you would do with asters— that problem is solved.  I learned that after the deer grazed it for the first two years ago and I feared I would have no blooms.  No worries.  It came right back with gusto.  I do try to remember to give it a spray of Deer Out now and then to avoid a repeat, however.

 

Rudbeckia subtomentosa ‘Henry Eilers’ likes full to part sun, soaks up the afternoon heat, and needs no supplemental watering once established.  It grows 3-5 feet tall in a neat clump.  I won’t be without this one, or the new dwarf form ‘Little Henry’ anytime soon.