Sahara Rudbeckia the Second Generation

 Today I planted some free plants, perennials I started from saved seeds.  These are Sahara Rudbeckia.  "Gloriosa Daisy"  They are a short lived perennial with the original plant only surviving a few seasons.  People either grown them as annuals or try to get them to reseed themselves.   Last year I purchased five or six live plants from Bluestone Perennials in the spring.  They grew beautifully.

My five original plants last year.

My favorite straw colored plant last year

All but one survived the winter and this year they are doing quite nice.

The same straw colored plant this year is now a huge clump

Because they are short lived, I clipped every flower last fall and saved all of the seeds.  I sifted them out and winnowed them well and kept them separated by color so I could add the right seeds back into the parent clumps.  This spring, after we mulched, I took the corresponding seed packet and emptied about half of it down in and around the new growth of each clump.  In the future I think it would be fun to add different colors to each established clump.

This one also survived the winter very well and is in full bloom

I had a lot of seed filled chaff leftover from my careful sifting and winnowing.  A few pinches of this chaff I seeded into milk jugs in March and simply set them on the deck of the garden shed in the sun.  This is a method called "winter sowing" and it is a great way to get seedlings started without a grow light, supplemental heat or a lot of fussing.

Towards the end of May I transplanted the seedlings from the milk jugs into cell trays.

After a few weeks in the cells I potted them up into 4" pots using whatever leftover soil I had after my main container planting was finished.  They grew fast.

A few weeks ago

I ended up with 36 nice plants.  Some of them already have buds on them.  I planted them throughout two of our perennial beds in spots where I usually plant annuals.  After the daylilies are past their prime, the Rudbeckia should be flowering, and the flowers themselves, unlike the aptly named "day lily" last for many weeks.  All it took was a little effort and some leftover soil and I have dozens of "free" plants.