Sweet Coneflower
Rudbeckia subtomentosa
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in moist to dry woodlands, prairies, disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Louisiana (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 3–5 feet
- Spread
- 1–2 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Space about 1.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 44 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- July to September
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 19 Louisiana parishes.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
15CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Rudbeckia
- Chlosyne nycteisSilvery Checkerspot
- Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
- Adaina ambrosiaeAmbrosia Plume Moth, Ragweed Plume Moth
- Archips griseaGray Archips
- Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
- Epiblema tripartitanaThree-Parted Epiblema
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
- Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
Show all 15
- Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
- Dichomeris costarufoella
- Isophrictis rudbeckiella
- Paralobesia rhoifructana
56BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Rudbeckia
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
25Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Rudbeckia
- Andrena aliciae
- Andrena asteris
- Andrena rudbeckiae
- Diadasia enavata
- Dieunomia bolliana
- Dieunomia heteropoda
- Megachile inimica
- Megachile parallela
- Megachile pugnata
- Megachile xylocopoides
Show all 25
- Melissodes bidentis
- Melissodes boltoniae
- Melissodes coreopsis
- Melissodes denticulatus
- Melissodes dentiventris
- Melissodes desponsus
- Melissodes druriellus
- Melissodes illatus
- Melissodes subillatus
- Melissodes trinodis
- Melissodes wheeleri
- Paranthidium jugatorium
- Perdita octomaculata
- Protandrena albitarsis
- Protandrena andrenoides
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–8b
- Flower color
- Yellow
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “3–5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- primary_flower_color · “yellow” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide
- Soil · “moderately wet to moderately dry” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Spread · “1–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| LA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Growing cautions
- Self-seeds. Naturalizes by re-seeding at a moderate rate. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Louisiana occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications