Rudbeckia ‘Tiger Eye’

The big, bright gold summer flowers of rudbeckia 'Tiger Eye.'

* Common name: Gloriosa daisy ‘Tiger Eye’

* Botanical name: Rudbeckia ‘Tiger Eye Gold’

* What it is: An annual flower with bold gold petals surrounding a large central dark-brown cone. Closely related to the perennial black-eyed susan, only this one has bigger flowers that bloom continuously from early summer until a hard frost kills it.

* Size: 2 feet tall. Space 15-18 inches apart.

* Where to use: Use in groups in any sunny garden where you want a spot of all-summer bright color. This is one of the most eye-grabbing bloomers from mid-summer into fall. Also grows well in pots in sunny spots.

* Care: Water twice a week for the first six weeks, then weekly when it’s dry. Work a timed-release fertilizer such as Osmocote into the soil at planting time and supplement with a liquid flower fertilizer every 2 weeks through summer for maximum bloom. Snip off flower stems after bloom to encourage more flowering but let the last round alone in fall. Plants may reseed themselves. Don’t yank plants after they brown in fall… some may overwinter and come back to life the following spring.

* Great partner: Any green evergreen. Or pair with red or orange marigolds.