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Rudbeckia subtomentosa 'Henry Eilers' sweet coneflower cultivar
sweet coneflower cultivar
Characteristics
Descriptions
Light Requirements
sun, part-sun
Soil Moisture
moist
Soil Description
average
Height
3'-5'
Recommended Spacing
1.5'-2'
Bloom Time
July, August, September
Bloom Color
yellow
Hardiness Zone
4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Description
A unique addition to the garden, Rudbeckia subtomentosa 'Henry Eilers' has finely quilled petals that set it apart from the species. The true yellow flowers grow 2"-3" across and occur at the tips of the branching stems. The common name sweet coneflower comes from the rough, gray-green foliage and the flowers that have a pleasant vanilla-anise scent when crushed. 'Henry Eilers' sweet coneflower is a clumper, growing 4'-5' tall and 2'-3' wide. It blooms late summer through early fall and is a welcome, sunny addition to mixed plantings. It works well in the middle to the back of a garden bed, in large groups, in cottage gardens, and in pollinator plantings.
Cultivation
The parent species—Rudbeckia subtomentosa—grows naturally in mesic to wet prairies, on stream banks, and in woodland openings. It does best in full sun in moist to average soils. Like the species, 'Henry Eilers' sweet coneflower tolerates part-sun conditions, heavy clay, heat, and humidity. However, rich soils can lead to this plant flopping over in the garden. For spring garden clean-up, cut stems back to the ground. To reduce height and flopping (if it occurs), plants can be cut back by 1/3 in early spring. This may delay flowering by a few weeks but will keep the plant shorter and fuller.
Recommended Spacing
Space plants 1.5'-2' on center.
This spacing will give 'Henry Eilers' sweet coneflower will give full coverage at maturity and allow room for air circulation.
Companion Plants
Rudbeckia 'Henry Eilers' looks fantastic next to the statuesque habit and pinkish-purple blooms of Joe-Pye weeds, like Eutrochium maculatum (spotted Joe-Pye weed) and Eutrochium fistulosum (hollow Joe-Pye weed). Combine it with other mesic-wet prairie native perennials like Eupatorium perfoliatum (common boneset), Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (New England aster), and Pycnanthemum tenuifolium (narrowleaf mountainmint).
Additional Notes
Rudbeckia subtomentosa 'Henry Eilers' is a natural selection of the species found by Larry Lowman of Ridgecrest Nursery in Wynne, Arkansas. 'Henry Eilers' was found while Lowman explored an old prairie remnant along a railroad track in Illinois, where he brought it back to his nursery and shared it with other avid gardeners. Birds consume the flower seedheads.
Pricing & Availability
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$25 off orders of $500 or more
$50 off orders of $750 or more
$100 off orders of $1,000 or more
$300 off orders of $2,000 or more
15% off orders of $3,000 or more
Would you like your plants shipped later? You may choose to do so in the shopping cart.
Note: Early spring shipments might include plants that have not yet broken dormancy, or have not been vernalized and will be frost-tender. Please use your best judgment when selecting your preferred ship week.
Did you know? When plants are available from multiple growers, we list growers closest to your location first.
Why choose plants from the nearest grower? Choosing a the grower closest to you makes it more likely the plants are consistent with your ecoregion and better adapted to your location. In addition, shipping plants shorter distances typically uses fewer resources, something we can all get behind!
Plant Sizes
Sizes Sizes
Sizes info
Shipping & Planting
SHIPPING INFO:
Shipping is free on all plants orders!
Your plants will ship using each grower’s preferred method: FedEx Ground, UPS Ground, or Spee-Dee Ground (in select midwestern states). Our growers ship orders Monday through Wednesday. The farther your plants need to travel, the earlier in the week they will ship. The goal is to have all plants delivered by the end of the week.
Shipping plugs:
Plugs are shipped in full flats, sometimes also referred to as trays. Multiple flats can be shipped in a single box. The flats are wrapped in netting or craft paper to secure the plants, and spacers are used between flats to keep the plants from being crushed.
When you unpack your plugs, the plants will have been somewhat flattened by the netting or craft paper. They will straighten out within a couple of days. You may also gently “fluff” them a bit to speed up the process. In some cases, your plants might have been cut back before packing, if the grower deemed them to have become too tall for safe packaging. Don’t worry, though, these guys know what they’re doing and would not compromise the health of the plants. They’ll fill back in in no time.
After receiving your plants’ journey in a dark box, it will be important to acclimate them to sunlight again. Over a couple of days, you should gradually move them into their preferred light exposure, and water them as per their requirement.
Although we always recommend putting your plants in the ground as soon as possible, they can stay healthy in the flats for a considerable amount of time. The key is to respect their growing requirements: if the species requires full sun, do not store them in the shade. If it is best adapted to dry soil, do not over-water.
PLANTING INFO:
Planting plugs:
We consider plugs ready to ship when the plants’ roots have filled the entire liner cell and the plants can easily be pulled out. In some cases you will have to go about it gently, wiggling the plant by the crown, and possibly squeezing the bottom of the liner to compress the growing medium and release the roots. Other times, the plants will appear to be root bound. They are not in the traditional sense. The plants are healthy but they have used up all the growing medium available to them. Plugs are at an aggressive stage of growth. As soon as planted the roots will immediately expand into your native soil. They establish faster than plants in larger containers, because they don’t have the luxury of a lot of growing media that can inhibit the roots from venturing outside of their comfort zone.
We are not going to address area preparation because the process can be complex and is always site-specific. However, as a rule, we recommend disturbing the soil as little as possible, and we do not recommend amending the soil. If you chose the right plant for the right conditions they will thrive. Any disturbance and amendments will only encourage weeds to emerge that never had a chance to do so before.
Installing plugs cannot be easier: dig a hole large enough for the roots to fit snugly inside, then water them in to eliminate air gaps. We recommend using a soil knife, sometimes referred to as hori hori, or a drill-adapted auger if it’s a large installation. If you use an auger, you will need a powerful drill. Depending on the size of the project and the type of soil, the process can be beyond what an average drill will bear. Mulching is recommended after installation to help keep weeds down while the plants establish. Be sure to keep it away from the crown of the plants. For large projects, you may want to mulch the area before planting, rather than tiptoeing through it after the fact. As a side note: if you are installing plugs in the fall, you might want to plant them so that the crown is about ¾” lower than the surrounding soil. The winter’s freeze/thaw cycles can push plugs out if the roots did not have enough time to establish and anchor them in.