Brown-Eyed Susan

Brown-Eyed Susan feels like a well-kept secret. Its dark brown-centered yellow flowers resemble a miniature Black-Eyed Susan, but the flower abundance is unmatched by most other plants. Brown-Eyed Susan is covered in hundreds of blooms for months through late summer and fall. As you'd expect from a plant with so many flowers, Brown-Eyed Susan can produce a lot of seedlings. Be sure to leave a few, as the plant is short-lived. Foliage can look tired by year's end, but it can be cut back without harming the plant.

• A short-lived but profuse seeder, find the right balance for your garden between allowing new seedlings to become established vs policing those that might risk overrunning the rest of your garden
• Though not a very tall plant, well-established Brown-Eyed Susans can be pruned to around half their height in late spring or early summer, well before blooming, to reduce height and improve both bushiness and bloom density.
• Staking will work very well to keep the occasionally floppy plant upright
• Once blooms are done for the year, consider cutting the plant back to reduce self-seeding and tidy up the yard