How to Grow Black Eyed Susan
Black Eyed Susan At a Glance
Difficulty
Easy
Category
Flower
Sun Exposure
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Hardy
Cold Hardiness
Survives to -29°C
Plant Family
Asteraceae
Growing Season
Warm Season
Plant Lifecycle
Perennial
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
Black-eyed Susan seeds sprout best after a cold spell, so the easiest way is to scatter them on the soil in late fall and let winter do the work. For a spring sowing, mix the seeds with damp sand in a bag, keep it in the fridge for 4 weeks, then sow about 4 weeks before your last frost. Press the seeds onto the surface without covering them (0.1 cm at most), since they need light to sprout, and they come up in 10 to 14 days. Thin them (pull the extras so each has room) to 30 cm apart.
Black-eyed Susan is tough: it loves heat, copes with poor soil and dry spells, and bees and butterflies visit it from midsummer to frost. Each plant only lives a few years, but it drops its own seed, so a patch keeps coming back on its own.
When To Start
First chance to plant
30 Days Before Last Frost
Last chance to plant
60 Days Before First Frost
When should you plant Black Eyed Susan?
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Your Black Eyed Susan Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Black Eyed Susan Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Sow black-eyed Susan seeds on the soil surface, do not cover them
30 days before your last frost
Optional: plant or divide black-eyed Susans in full sun
Around your last frost· every year· optional
Cut black-eyed Susans for a vase, leave some seed heads for birds
75 days after your last frost· every year· optional
Did you water your black eyed susan seedlings today? Keep the top of the soil damp until they are up and growing.
About 1 days after you plant it
Your black-eyed Susans are growing well! Water deeply but not too often, since they handle dry spells once settled.
About 44 days after you plant it
Your black-eyed Susans are heading toward bloom. Cut faded flowers and the plant will keep making new ones.
About 74 days after you plant it
Picking time may be here: check your black eyed susan.
About 90 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
Black Eyed Susan's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Expect sprouts in 10–14 days
Growing Tips
- 1Plant black-eyed Susans in full sun, at least 6 hours a day, for the most flowers.
- 2They grow in almost any soil that drains well, and a little compost mixed in at planting is all they need.
- 3Water young plants once a week until they settle in, then only in long dry spells, since grown plants handle drought well.
- 4Skip extra feeding, because rich soil gives floppy stems and fewer flowers.
- 5Snip off faded flowers to keep new ones coming, but leave some seed heads standing in the fall for the birds.
- 6Give the plants room so air flows between them, which keeps powdery mildew (a white dust on the leaves) away, and wash aphids off with a strong spray of water.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
~90
Days to Maturity
75 cm
Mature Height
61 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
45 days
When to Pick
Cut flowers when fully open
How to Harvest
- 1Cut flowers for a vase when the petals have just opened fully and the dark centre is still firm.
- 2Cut in the cool of the morning, just above a pair of leaves, and put the stems in water right away.
- 3Cutting often makes the plant branch and bloom even more.
- 4Change the vase water every couple of days and the flowers last about a week.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
How to Save Seeds
Black-eyed Susans from a variety that is not a hybrid grow much like the parent, but hybrid F1 seeds will not. Different kinds cross with each other through bees, so grow only one kind if you want the seeds to match. Leave a few flowers on the plant until the petals drop and the centre turns dry and dark brown. Snip the heads into a paper bag, let them dry indoors for 1 to 2 weeks, then crumble them to free the tiny dark seeds. Store them in a labelled envelope somewhere cool, dark and dry, where they keep about 2 to 3 years.
Seed Production
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