Cutleaf coneflower
Rudbeckia laciniata · Asteraceae
Drooping, lemon-yellow petals around a green cone, on branching stems far above head height, over large, deeply cut leaves.
- Size
- 6½ ft tall, 3 ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late July to mid September
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around cutleaf coneflower
The planner designed this bed around cutleaf coneflower when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) naturalistic planting in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why cutleaf coneflower stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Cutleaf coneflower × 1, yellow
- 2 Lingonberry × 8, pink
- 3 Bloody cranesbill × 5, white
- 4 Little bluestem × 3, blue-green leaves
- 5 Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' × 5, blue
- 6 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
Why this plant
- The only bold leaves here. The rest are fine and medium. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
- The only daisies. The others are bells, open bowls, airy sprays and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only yellow. The one hot colour: every other flower here is cool or neutral.
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 little bluestem (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.
- Closes the season. For its last 8 weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 42% of the planted ground. The most in flower at one time is 4 kinds, from late May. Cool colours (pink, blue and purple) with yellow as the warm note, and white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 6 Good, 1 Needs revision. Its weakest point is height and scale: Heights average about 10 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 2½ 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 cutleaf coneflower 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: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
A native of stream banks, for the back of a moist border or the edge of a wood. The green cones give it a cool look that the black-eyed kinds lack.
- The back of a moist border
- Stream banks and woodland edges
- Late-summer pollinators
What to plant with cutleaf coneflower
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; happy in the same moist soil.
- New York ironweed: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for seven weeks; medium leaves against its bold ones; happy in the same moist soil.
- Switchgrass 'Cloud Nine': in flower together for seven weeks, from early August; fine leaves against its bold ones.
Questions about cutleaf coneflower
Does cutleaf coneflower need sun or shade?
Cutleaf coneflower grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does cutleaf coneflower grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does cutleaf coneflower 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 3 | Early August to mid September |
|---|---|
| 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 cutleaf coneflower 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 cutleaf coneflower 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 a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is cutleaf coneflower 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.
Do deer eat cutleaf coneflower?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
Will cutleaf coneflower spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads by underground stems into broad clumps in moist soil. Divide it every few years.
What flowers after cutleaf coneflower?
Cutleaf coneflower 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.
- Blue wood aster: from mid September to mid October, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does cutleaf coneflower look like in winter?
Cutleaf coneflower dies down, but leave the stems standing: the seed heads stand through the winter, and songbirds eat the seed. Cut them down in early spring, before the new shoots come.
Is cutleaf coneflower good for bees and butterflies?
Cutleaf coneflower is visited by pollinators, butterflies and songbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of wavy-lined emerald feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
It is native to the United States.
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
- Coneflower 'Herbstsonne' Rudbeckia 'Herbstsonne'
- 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
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Tall perennials and grasses for the back of a border
- Host plants for the wavy-lined emerald
Zone guides: Zone 3 · 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
- Bold texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Comes from
- Eastern North America
- Attracts
- Pollinators, butterflies, songbirds
- Host plant for
- Wavy-lined emerald
- Stands up to
- Heat, humidity
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). 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.