The SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan, otherwise known as the Rudbeckia Hirta ‘Sunny’ Plant Patent Applied For or Baby Sage ‘Red Velvet’, Mountain Sage ‘Red Velvet’, Salvia x jamensis ‘Red Velvet’, Salvia microphylla x greggii ‘Red Velvet’, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and fast growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
The fundamental caring guidelines for every SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
- Light: Keep your Rudbeckia Hirta ‘Sunny’ Plant Patent Applied For in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan in soil with moist but well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan belongs to the Lamiaceae family, the genus Salvia and the species Microphylla, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Rudbeckia Hirta ‘Sunny’ Plant Patent Applied For (rud-BEK-ee-uh HER-tuh).
As with other Salvia’s, the SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan is a herbaceous plant, which means it will die back to the ground every year.
Growing Region
The SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan is a plant native to the Arizona to Guatemala.
You might be wondering why your SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Rudbeckia Hirta ‘Sunny’ Plant Patent Applied For will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 12 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a, 9b, 9a, 10b, 10a and the ideal climate zone is between 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan is a relatively fast grower, which makes things tricky for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But what exactly does this mean for your SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan? How large a pot should you consider, how tall, how wide can it get? Let’s jump in…
The Rudbeckia Hirta ‘Sunny’ Plant Patent Applied For can grow up to 2′ – 4′ (60cm – 120cm) in 2′ – 4′ (60cm – 120cm) and 2′ – 4′ (60cm – 120cm) in 2′ – 4′ (60cm – 120cm).
These dimensions make the SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan a relatively medium shrub compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful upright shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 36″ – 48″ (90cm – 120cm) free so the SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan is a fairly simple plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Rudbeckia Hirta ‘Sunny’ Plant Patent Applied For prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan in soil with moist but well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, and occasionally dry properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
But, if you want a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to watering your SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan then you should consider the famous ‘finger’ test. To perform this test, you just need to put your finger in your plant’s soil and determine if it’s moist or not. If it is, then don’t water; if it isn’t, then please do. In any case, this test will allow you to know if your SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan needs or does not need water, every time.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan prefers to have soil with good drainage, and occasionally dry properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
This is why most experts agree that the SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan requires soil with high organic matter, loam (silt), and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Rudbeckia Hirta ‘Sunny’ Plant Patent Applied For in full and direct sun (more than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a herbaceous plant, the SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan will die back to the ground every year.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the summer (early, mid, late), and during the fall.
Flowers
You can expect your SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan to flower around the spring, summer and the fall months from April to June (spring), from July to September (summer), and from October to December (fall).
In particular, this shrub is well known for its repeat flowering, flowers for cutting long bloom season, and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan produces some beautiful yellow, or red/burgundy, pink and white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a opposite organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Rudbeckia Hirta ‘Sunny’ Plant Patent Applied For to be around (< 1 inch) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan is well known for being able to attract butterflies, birds and hummingbirds, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for drought and animals like rabbit and deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Rudbeckia Hirta ‘Sunny’ Plant Patent Applied For will be fine.
Garden
Does your SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.
Most Rudbeckia Hirta ‘Sunny’ Plant Patent Applied For owners agree that this shrub will look great in most mediterranean, contemporary cottage, and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of coastal garden, city and courtyard, and in informal and cottage styles.
In particular, the SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, others use it for landscaping in a specimen, raised bed, mass planting, cutting garden, container, border, accent, or a urban garden.
Companion Plants
SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Panicum, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Echinacea will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your SmileyZ™ Sunny Black-Eyed Susan to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
