Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii Little Goldstar

Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii Little Goldstar, also known as Sullivant's Coneflower Little Goldstar is an improvement on the famous cultivar 'Goldsturm'. This recent variety displays a profusion of golden yellow daisies with a prominent dark brown centre, just knee-high. Blooming tirelessly from late summer until frost, this particularly compact perennial plant is well suited for flower pots and sunny borders. Very hardy, it requires a rather moist, fertile, deep, and well-drained soil.

Little Goldstar Rudbeckia fulgida is a type of perennial sunflower belonging to the Asteraceae family. It is an excellent cultivar derived from Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii, a botanical species native to North America, in the southeastern United States, growing equally well in dry soils as in wet areas, in open woods, clearings, and even coppices. It is a rhizomatous and stoloniferous perennial plant with a very compact habit, developing mostly unbranched stems, reaching a height of 40 to 50cm (16 to 20in), with a spread of 50 to 60cm (20 to 24in).  The deciduous basal foliage consists of lanceolate, dark greenish-grey leaves, slightly pubescent. Flowering occurs from August to October, without interruption. The single flowers are quite large, facing upwards, composed of fairly narrow peripheral ligules, of a beautiful golden-yellow colour, arranged in a collar around a prominent conical dark brown-purple centre. This plant spreads slowly by rhizomes and can eventually form large colonies.

Rudbeckias are truly eye-catching, marking the landscape with their golden yellow petals surrounding an almost always prominent black centre, in a striking contrast. Little Goldstar Rudbeckia quickly fills out borders and flower beds thanks to its dense and compact habit, and allows for beautiful flower pots that stand out. Its sunny flowers require it to be combined, in borders or low beds, with the blue-purple of asters, or the vibrant red of salvias, alongside ephemeral flowering plants such as evening primroses (oenothera versicolor Sunset Boulevard), thistles (Echinops ritro, Eryngium zabelii Big Blue, Eryngium alpinum Blue Star), inulas, within a country garden, or along water bodies that it also appreciates. Its extraordinary flowers can be highlighted by those of bulrush, and the stylised design of grasses (Blue oat grass, Carex buchananii, Carex flacca...)