Black-Eyed Susan Companion Plants
Flower90 days to maturity
Black-eyed Susan is a cheerful North American wildflower with golden-yellow petals surrounding a dark central cone, blooming prolifically from midsummer to frost. Usually grown as a short-lived perennial or biennial, it draws bees, butterflies, and beneficial predatory insects, making it a tough, low-maintenance border companion for the vegetable garden.
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Companion Planting Strategy for Black-Eyed Susan
Black-eyed Susan supports the garden as a long-blooming nectar source that keeps pollinators and predatory insects like hoverflies and parasitic wasps nearby all season. Plant it at the edge of tomato and pepper beds to draw in the beneficials that suppress aphids and hornworms.
Best Companion Plants for Black-Eyed Susan
These plants grow well alongside Black-Eyed Susan — providing pest control, attracting pollinators, or making better use of your garden space.
Black-eyed Susan's steady bloom attracts pollinators and predatory insects such as parasitic wasps and hoverflies that help control aphids and hornworms on tomatoes.
Black-eyed Susan provides season-long nectar that keeps ladybugs, lacewings, and hoverflies in the garden to prey on aphids around pepper plants.
How to Grow Black-Eyed Susan
- Botanical name
- Rudbeckia hirta
- Family
- Aster/Daisy (Asteraceae)
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade
- Water
- About 1 inch per week; drought tolerant once established
- Soil
- Average, well-draining soil, pH 6.0-7.0; tolerates clay
- Spacing
- 12-18 inches apart
- Planting depth
- Surface-sow or barely cover seeds, which need light to germinate; also propagate by division
- Germination
- 7-21 days at about 70F
- Days to maturity
- Blooms its first year if started early (about 85-100 days from seed) through fall
- When to plant
- Sow outdoors in spring after frost or in fall; set transplants out in spring. Hardy in USDA zones 3-9
- Harvest
- Deadhead for more blooms, or leave the seed heads standing to feed birds and allow self-seeding
Common Black-Eyed Susan Problems
Powdery mildew (white coating on leaves in late summer)
Space plants for airflow, water at the base in the morning, and remove affected foliage; thin crowded clumps.
Septoria and angular leaf spot causing brown or black blotches
Remove and destroy spotted leaves, avoid overhead watering, and clear plant debris at the end of the season.
Aster yellows (greenish, distorted flowers)
Pull and dispose of infected plants right away and manage the leafhoppers that transmit the disease; do not compost them.
Slugs and snails chewing young seedlings
Hand-pick at night, use beer traps, and ring seedlings with iron-phosphate bait or crushed eggshells.
Black-Eyed Susan Companion Planting FAQ
What are the best companion plants for black-eyed Susan?
Black-eyed Susan is a strong companion for tomatoes and peppers, drawing pollinators and predatory insects that control aphids and hornworms. In borders it also combines well with echinacea, yarrow, and ornamental grasses that enjoy the same full sun and good drainage.
What should you not plant with black-eyed Susan?
Avoid planting it with shade-loving plants or anything needing constantly moist, rich soil, since it prefers sun and good drainage. Give it room as well, because it self-seeds and spreads, and can crowd small, slow neighbors.
Is black-eyed Susan a perennial or annual?
Rudbeckia hirta is typically a short-lived perennial or biennial that behaves like a self-seeding annual in many gardens. It returns year after year through reseeding even when individual plants are short-lived, and is hardy in zones 3-9.
How much sun does black-eyed Susan need?
Black-eyed Susan flowers best in full sun with at least six hours of direct light. It tolerates light afternoon shade but will grow leggier and bloom less in shadier spots.
More flower companions
Plan Your Black-Eyed Susan Garden
Use our interactive tools to design the perfect garden with Black-Eyed Susan and its companions.