The care secret that transformed my Black-eyed Susan

I'd had Black-eyed Susan for about eight months with acceptable but unremarkable results. Then I started really paying attention to avoiding any fertiliser which would favour grasses over flowers and the difference over the next two months was dramatic.

exceptional wildlife value for bees, butterflies, and hoverflies became much more pronounced. The plant in a naturalistic border at the edge of a garden now looks like a completely different specimen. seed setting and dispersal in late summer confirmed that I'd finally unlocked what this plant can do. poor germination in compacted or clay soils has been less of a problem since I got the overall conditions right. If your Black-eyed Susan is underwhelming, look at avoiding any fertiliser which would favour grasses over flowers first.