Cut-leaf Coneflower

Rudbeckia laciniata, is a showy flower in the Aster family. The leaf reference in this plant’s name says it all, with the large leaves being deeply lobed and a very good way to ID the plant. The leaves are also deeply loved as the photo of the grasshopper caught resting on an upper leaf reveals! The cone-like dome shape of the center disks is a beautiful characteristic from which the the other part of the flower name arises. Blooming July through September, these native flowers provide an excellent nectar source for bees and butterflies. This is especially important for the monarch butterflies in late summer getting ready for their winter migration sojourn south.

On a side note, the garden industry some time ago developed strong cultivars of cut-leaf coneflower with bushy blooms and an indistinguishable central disk. While not the pollinator plant of the original from which it derives, these ‘mop heads’ are very showy for gardens. The flower stalks of the cultivars are spectacularly tall and clustered with heavy, fully double blooms that seem to send out rays of sunshine. Without pruning back, these flower heads can get quite droopy if left alone to grow naturally. We have these mop heads in our garden, love them as they are, and usually leave them alone to ‘do their thing’. If it does become necessary to hack them away from neighboring garden plants, no problem. These cultivars will easily sprout new stems and flowers.