Rudbeckia triloba 'Prairie Glow'

Short-lived perennial, often grown as a biennial, belonging to the Asteraceae family. The type species is native to the eastern and central parts of North America, where it colonizes forest edges, wet meadows, and roadsides.

This cultivar forms very branched and bushy clumps, reaching 80 to 120 cm in height, with dark purple, densely hairy stems, which are covered at the end of the season with a multitude of small flower heads. The leaves are lanceolate to oval, rough, sometimes slightly trilobed on vigorous individuals — a characteristic that gave the species its name. It is the profusion and small size of the flowers, significantly more numerous than in R. fulgida, that give the plant its airy and abundant appearance.

The ligules of 'Prairie Glow' exhibit a remarkable bicolor effect, transitioning from bright yellow at the base to an intense red-orange towards the tip, around a very dark brown-black central disc. This warm and contrasting range is one of the most distinctive features of the cultivar compared to wild forms.

In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from August to October. In cultivation, it generally begins in July and continues until the frosts. It thrives in the sun in well-drained ordinary soil, self-seeds readily, and deserves a place in naturalistic compositions and prairie gardens.