Coneflower 'Herbstsonne'
Rudbeckia 'Herbstsonne' · Asteraceae
Towering stems carry large, clear yellow daisies with drooping petals and tall green cones from late summer. The name means 'autumn sun'.
- Size
- 6½ ft tall, 3 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late July to mid September
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around coneflower 'Herbstsonne'
The planner designed this bed around coneflower 'Herbstsonne' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why coneflower 'Herbstsonne' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Coneflower 'Herbstsonne' × 1, yellow
- 2 Lingonberry × 8, pink
- 3 Carpathian bellflower × 7, blue
- 4 Bee balm 'Jacob Cline' × 3, red
- 5 Switchgrass 'Cheyenne Sky' × 3, purple
- 6 Obedient plant 'Miss Manners' × 3, white
- 7 Camassia × 2, blue
- 8 Grecian windflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only yellow.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 6½ ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to switchgrass 'Cheyenne Sky' (3 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A feature plant is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for 9 weeks. From late July to mid September.
- Part of the bed's peak. With Carpathian bellflower, bee balm 'Jacob Cline', switchgrass 'Cheyenne Sky' and others in late July: 5 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Cool colours (pink, blue and purple) with yellow and red as the warm notes, and white to calm things between them. The most in flower at one time is 5 kinds, from late July.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 6 Good, 1 Needs revision. Its weakest point is height and scale: Heights average about 8 in at the front, 2½ ft in the middle and 4 ft at the back. Along the back row the heights step up and down, between 3 ft and 6½ ft, and no two neighbours are the same height. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where coneflower 'Herbstsonne' goes in a border
At 6½ ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is very tall (5 to 6½ ft).
Its job: specimen. A feature plant with a shape of its own. It stands alone with room around it, and repeats only at a distance.
A plant for the back row, where it rises above asters and Joe Pye weed. In good soil it stands without staking; cut it back by half in June for a shorter plant.
- Height at the back of a big border
- Late-summer colour
- Cut flowers
What to plant with coneflower 'Herbstsonne'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Joe Pye weed 'Gateway': in flower together for eight weeks, from late July; bold leaves against its medium ones; happy in the same moist soil.
- New England aster: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for three weeks; low enough (4 ft) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Switchgrass 'Shenandoah': its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (4 ft) to stand in front of it.
Questions about coneflower 'Herbstsonne'
Does coneflower 'Herbstsonne' need sun or shade?
Coneflower 'Herbstsonne' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does coneflower 'Herbstsonne' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does coneflower 'Herbstsonne' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late July to mid September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Early August to mid September |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late July to mid September |
| Zone 6 | Late July to mid September |
| Zone 7 | Mid July to mid September |
| Zone 8 | Mid July to mid September |
| Zone 9 | Mid July to mid September |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should coneflower 'Herbstsonne' be planted?
2½ ft (75 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3 ft (90 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 6½ ft (200 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many coneflower 'Herbstsonne' plants do I need?
At 2½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 2 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 5 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 6 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, with clear ground around it: a feature plant is seen as an object, and a group of them is a thicket.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is coneflower 'Herbstsonne' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like coneflower 'Herbstsonne'?
Coneflower 'Herbstsonne' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- New York ironweed: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; purple, not yellow.
- Hardy hibiscus: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 20 in shorter, 6 in wider.
- Swamp sunflower: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 6 in wider, flowers late September to late October.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after coneflower 'Herbstsonne'?
Coneflower 'Herbstsonne' is over by mid September. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Swamp sunflower: from late September to late October, 6½ ft tall.
- Montauk daisy: from mid September to late October, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does coneflower 'Herbstsonne' look like in winter?
Coneflower 'Herbstsonne' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Rudbeckia
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia fulgida
- Black-eyed Susan 'American Gold Rush' Rudbeckia 'American Gold Rush'
- Black-eyed Susan 'Goldsturm' Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii 'Goldsturm'
- Black-eyed Susan 'Little Goldstar' Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii 'Little Goldstar'
- Brown-eyed Susan Rudbeckia triloba
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata
- Giant coneflower Rudbeckia maxima
- Gloriosa daisy Rudbeckia hirta
- Gloriosa daisy 'Indian Summer' Rudbeckia hirta 'Indian Summer'
- Sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' Rudbeckia subtomentosa 'Henry Eilers'
In these guides
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 6½ ft (200 cm) tall, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
- Plant
- 2½ ft (75 cm) apart
- Height class
- Very tall (5 to 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late July to mid September; daisies; yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Asteraceae
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.