| Description | Viette's Little Suzy (Rudbeckia fulgida speciosa) is a compact, clump-forming perennial with bright yellow flowers having a dark brown center from midsummer through early fall. |
|---|---|
| Plant Type | All Plants, Perennials Hardy |
| Hardiness Zone | 5 |
| Sunlight | Prefers full but tolerates some shade. |
| Moisture | Best in moist to average. Does not like prolonged dry conditions. It will tolerate dry conditions and probably will not die, but without additional water, the plants will be smaller, thinner, with fewer flowers. |
| Soil & Site | average, moist |
| Temperature | Survived the polar vortex of the 2018-2019 winter in zone 5 for me. |
| Flowers | The flowers are brown-eyed, daisy-like flowers that start blooming toward the end of July. |
| Fruit | achene |
| Leaves | Has dark glossy basal leaves, slightly cupped, that become sparser up the stem. |
| Stems | rhizomatous, clump-forming |
| Roots | fibrous |
| Dimensions | Plants reaches15-18" tall, by equal or greater spread, clump forming, height is directly related to the amount of moisture |
| Maintenance | Best to cut back the stems flush to the basal foliage after flowering and when the foliage starts to deteriorate. |
| Propagation | easy by division |
| Cultivar Origin | Developed by Viette's Nursery in Virginia, USA |
| Misc Facts | The genus name Rudbeckia is named after Olof Rudbeck the Elder and his son Olof Rudbeck the Younger. Two Swedish botanists who were friends of Linnaeus. Fulgida translates as shining. |
| Author's Notes | I have an old patch of Little Suzie in one of my gardens (2000-2019). Needs extra water, or the plants basically wilt all the time during the drier hot periods. If allowed to wilt to many times the plants may only reach 50% of their height. |
| Notes & Reference | #273-Gardenia (www.gardenia.net), #274-Site Authors' observations and growing experiences of growing Little Suzie |
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