One of my favorite parts of the growing season is getting to add something new to the garden. In the past, I’ve had very limited success with rudbeckia. I’ve tried several perennial types, but have almost always been met with failure. It wasn’t until I started growing rudbeckia hirta types that I finally found some success with rudbeckias as annuals. 
This year, I grew a very pretty variety called Sahara rudbeckia. Searching for the plant online, I found pretty of glowing photos of the large daisy shaped blooms. The plant growing in my own yard definitely did not disappoint!
In my experience, I often find that mixed seed packets are often color dominant – being that one color is more prevalent than others. 
I didn’t have this problem at all with my rudbeckia. I planted two small packets of seed, and was rewarded greatly with a profusion of color. Even though most of the colors are what I would “fall tones”, they actually began to bloom right in the middle of summer. Very pretty!
Soon, I was able to cut the flowers by the bucket-full. Even though I did have some trouble with bug damage on the petals, it was minimal. In most cases, I would hardly even notice any petals that had been chewed by the Japanese beetles. 
Besides it’s beauty in my flower vases, it was an awesome addition to my small flower border. Have you ever grown Sahara rudbeckia before? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below!
pretty! i have them winter sowing. can you collect the seeds from these for the following year or would you recommend buying fresh seed?