THE 2023 PERENNIAL PLANT OF THE YEAR®
Rudbeckia ‘American Gold Rush’ PP28498
Black-eyed Susan
Information from https://perennialplant.org/page/2023PPOY
Photography Credit: Intrinsic Perennial Gardens
At the height of summer, ‘American Gold Rush’ black-eyed Susan turns up the volume for a long season of dazzling color right up to autumnal frosts. The bright golden-yellow flowers feature arching rays and a reddish halo surrounding dark chocolate cones. Three-inch flowers blanket the compact plant, only 22-27 inches tall with a broader width to 40 inches if given room to grow.
The green leaves and stems are covered in hairs, which gives them a silvery cast—on sunny days, peeking through the blooms to the leaves is a luminous silver-and-gold treat. More than just boosting the ornamental show, the hairy foliage is resistant to Septoria leaf spot—a debilitating fungal disease that causes unsightly black spotting and premature seasonal decline on some black-eyed Susans. ‘American Gold Rush’ is a reliable hardy perennial and a great substitute for popular, brassier ‘Goldsturm’, which is highly susceptible to leaf spotting.
‘American Gold Rush’ is a stunning focal point in perennial borders and meadows and is brilliant when massed in public or corporate landscapes. Butterflies caper over the blooms and songbirds feast on the plentiful seed long after the flowers have passed—the seedheads provide winter interest too. Garden companions are many, including alliums, asters, sages, and native grasses such as little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) and prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis).
‘American Gold Rush’, is also a 2020 AAS National Winner – one of the first winners from the collaborative PPA and AAS perennial trial. To top off the credentials of this award-winning selection, the National Garden Bureau has named 2023 the Year of Rudbeckia in their perennial class.
More information and photos about the plant is at https://perennialplant.org/page/2023PPOY
