Thursday, August 27, 2015

Gloriosa Daisy

I suppose the name Gloriosa Daisy might make a botanist cringe but, for the gardener, it is a handy designation. These are not daisies, but Rudbeckia that have been hybridized and have finally settled into a big yellow/orange daisy, about two feet tall (60 cm) and biennial. Its flowers, however, are quite unpredictable, and there is a great deal of diversity, both in the colour and the markings on the flowers.




Its ancestor is Rudbeckia hirta which actually grows locally as a wild flower. Like most "unimproved" wild flowers it looks rather humble when you see it growing in the wild in its native habitat, about a third of the size of Gloriosa Daisy.



There must have been mixing of a lot of genes to produce the Gloriosa Daisy, but the result is, at least for our climate, the most reliable and showy biennial. You need to buy seeds only once as it self-seeds. All through summer, you find find a few new volunteers near the mother plant.


These I pot up and pamper for a few weeks before replanting them where they are to grow. They can be planted in autumn or the following spring.


A couple of pots of volunteers like the one above will produce a reasonable clump like the one below. This particular drift resulted from plants that seeded themselves in 2014. They were transplanted this spring and started blooming in early July. They are still going strong. A couple might survive the winter, but not many. They will have left quite a few "babies" around themselves, though.


They can grow in the grass where there is a lot of competition but, in such situations, they do not selfseed much.


Their gene pool produces a great diversity of flowers. You never know exactly what you are going to get but it will be yellow/orange and two feet tall. Here is a good representation of this year's crop.



18 comments:

  1. Mama liked the name 'Gloriosa Daisy' for whatever reason. The ones with Mahogany markings are my favorites.

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    1. Thank you for your comment Jane.
      As beautiful, bright, brilliant, dazzling are synonyms for glorious, I suppose Gloriosa Daisy is an appropriate name.

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  2. Such a reliable plant here as well. Love the varieties

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  3. I love that diversity of the flowers, even though the plain old golden is special enough as it is. Maybe I have to spice up my gene pool since he marked flowers seem few and far between this year.
    I'm always happy to find one out in the grass as well, it's such a nice surprise.

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  4. Great plant Alain
    I don't think a good botanist should cringe, he should celebrate the wonders of hybridity and how most of our garden plants have been created by mixing genes together from several species.
    I think you know from my blog Alain I think hybridity is much more significant in nature than is generally recognised!

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  5. I love self-seeders - I spent a pleasant hour weeding some gravel today and moving self-seeded plants to where I would rather see them. Even better than self-seeders are the hybrids. Here's to variety and free plants!

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  6. We have the perennial rudbeckia. It's a pity they do not come in as wide a range of colours

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  7. I also have a perennial rudbeckia in my garden. And while I really doubt more and more about yellow colour in my garden, the late flowering rudbeckias are in firm position. And I still wish to have those Phlomis russelianas in my schemes! ;-)

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  8. Hello Alain !
    Yes there is such a difference in weather between us yet not that much in distance as you would think ... rudbeckia grows like a weed here but I am grateful for those patches of bright gold that perk up the garden .. I just have to micro manage where they pop up a little better and actually think them out to "spread the joy" haha .. they really do help us out at this time of year though .. I love my ornamental grasses too.
    The transition from summer to Autumn is making me very happy ... it was a weird year for me.
    Take care !
    Joy : )

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  9. I love these!! If you ever want to seed swap, let me know.

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    1. Will be pleased to send you some seeds. They should be ready towards the end of the month.

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  10. Dear Alain!
    Yesterday I got a letter from you with Phlomis russeliana seeds! They have arrived safely! Thank you so much!
    Tistou

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  11. I have the perennial Rubeckia, but remember these from my Mom's garden. Whenever I see them, I think of her.

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  12. I like Rudbeckia, they're really lovely daisy-like, bright yellow, cheery flowers that are particularly bee-friendly and germinate from seed easily. The fact that you can have so many variations makes them the kind of plant that many others should look up to.

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  13. I have been very pleased with the performance of the perennial rudbeckia in our garden these past two years, probably because of their reluctance to do well in our Aberdeen garden. I am very tempted with the biennial 'Gloriosa Daisy'

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  14. I used to have Rudbeckia hirta as part of my meadow mix and loved the special, very warm colours. Last year I've asked myself why I avoid yellow in my borders as it's such a great colour to have especially at this time of year. So I've made two yellow borders this year and I'm very pleased as they've done quite well all through the drought and heat. Especially Rudbeckia subtomentosa and R. triloba are absolutely stunning.

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  15. Hello Alain, I'm looking forward to having these in our herbaceous border (yet to be dug). I hope after a few years that we'll have a mix of strains and varieties like you. I really like their vibrant yellow with the dark centre that makes the flower stand out even more.

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