Rudbeckia hirta ‘Irish Eyes’ seeds – (Gloriosa Daisy)

Description

Rudbeckia hirta, ‘Irish Eyes’ is a taller strain, producing strong base branches holding, in late summer to autumn, huge single golden-yellow daisies with a bright green eye. It has an upright spreading habit, multiple flowering stems and mostly lance-shaped leaves covered by coarse hairs.

The flowers are good for cutting and last well in the vase. Deadhead regularly to extend flowering and encourage further blooms. Deadhead if you do not wish to self-seed

It is a short lived perennial, often best treated as an annual.

It prefers a moist well-drained soil in full sun. Do not allow soil to dry out. Mulch if soil is prone to drying out. It is a low maintenance, drought-tolerant plant once it is established, that is not particular as to soil type or pH and should do well under typical garden conditions.

Cut back to ground level in late autumn and divide clumps every 2 to 3 years in early spring, just as the plant emerges.

It performs well in containers and is a good choice for attracting butterflies and bees.

Sowing advice

Sow in trays or pots indoors in late winter and spring, early summer and autumn and outdoors direct in spring.Sow seed onto moist well-drained seed compost. Just cover with a fine layer of vermiculite. Propagate 18-20°C. Keep soil moist but not wet. Germination takes 10-15 days. Transplant seedlings when large enough to handle to 8cm pots. Grow on in cooler conditions. Acclimatise and plant out after danger of frost has passed with 45cm spacing. Can be sown directly from late October. Sow thinly 3mm deep into well prepared soil which has been raked to a fine tilth. Water regularly. When large enough to handle thin to 45cm spacing.