Rudbeckia Green Wizard Plant – A Unique Addition to Your Garden

Rudbeckia (coneflower) is a widely cultivated genus of flowering plants ranging from tall and stately rudbeckias to low-growing perennials and even annuals. Known for their longevity and unoffensive, broadly pleasing characteristics, rudbeckias are always popular with gardeners and enthusiastic weeders. When you’re already familiar with Rudbeckia suaveolens ‘Goldilocks’, R. hirta ‘Little Goldfinch’, R. ‘Autumn Colours’, R. fulgida ‘Goldsturm’, and R. subtomentosa ‘Henry Emy’, Rudbeckia occidentalis ‘Green Wizard’ offers something quite different, namely a coneflower that is almost alien in its green sepals and dark brown sharply pointed centers.

 

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In this article, we’ll cover cultivating Rudbeckia ‘Green Wizard’, the benefits it offers to your garden, and how to incorporate it into different landscaping designs, from the novice gardener to the more experienced player. Add this glamorous plant to your garden to bring drama and sophistication outdoors.

What is Rudbeckia ‘Green Wizard’?

Rudbeckia ‘Green Wizard’. Photo courtesy D.J. Fitzpatrick. Another example is Rudbeckia occidentalis, a North American native wildflower. A perennial similar in many ways to the Rudbeckias most gardeners are familiar with, but utterly distinct. One would have to have a strict idea of what a Rudbeckia is to consider Rudbeckia occidentalis as such a plant. Rudbeckia ‘Green Wizard’, a mutant cultivar of this species, doesn’t even come close to living up to its name, and this point alone is enough to convince me that it should be given an entirely new genus name. You might think it’s a Rudbeckia because it is in the genus, but other than its obvious core-opsis features – its radially symmetrical, rayed appearance – there’s little to suggest it’s the same plant. Rather than myriad bright yellow or orange petals surrounding a dark central cone, Green Wizard manifests large, green, petal-like sepals surrounding an even darker cone, lending the whole flower an alien, wild, almost architectonic aura.

Growing to between 3 and 5 feet tall (90 to 150 cm) with an equal spread of 2 to 3 feet (60 to 90 cm), the flowers appear in mid-summer and bloom until early autumn – making it a plant for long-lasting summer borders and containers. The leaves are lance-shaped and dark green, and the plant grows with an upright stem and sturdy habit.

Benefits of Growing Rudbeckia ‘Green Wizard’

Unique Aesthetic Appeal

One reason why gardeners grow Rudbeckia ‘Green Wizard’ is because it stands out; the unusual lack of yellow petals highlights the plant’s odd shape where pretty petals would otherwise be expected, and it draws the eye and starts conversations. Its green sepals and dark black cones provide a contrast to the bright colors of most garden plants and add interest and texture to your garden design.

Low Maintenance

Rudbeckias are also relatively resistant to pests and disease, and once established, ‘Green Wizard’ requires little maintenance. It develops into a drought-tolerant, deer-resistant, usually pest- and disease-free, low-maintenance species with a high visual impact in the garden.

Attracts Pollinators

Rudbeckia ‘Green Wizard’ is an excellent plant for pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects – despite having no petals. Its large central cones are filled with nectar and pollen, which is why they visit so often. If you plant it in your garden, you’ll know exactly who has been nosing around your wildflowers when the plants are covered in amber pollen dust. In this way, encouraging local pollinator populations could help secure ecosystem health and food sources.

Versatility in Garden Design

This cultivar can be used in lots of different settings and garden designs. It can be the star in a border of mixed perennials, or alternatively planted with more colorful flowers to provide a foil for both. It can also work well in a naturalistic garden where its wild look can be celebrated, and its height offers vertical interest in the garden, planted on its own or in groups.

How to Grow and Care for Rudbeckia ‘Green Wizard’

Soil and Site Selection

Rudbeckia ‘Green Wizard’ is quite tolerant of soil varieties, although it grows best in well-drained, moderately fertile soil. It can handle a fairly broad pH range from slightly acidic (around 6) to slightly alkaline conditions (around 7.5), but like many perennials, it is happiest when the soil is organic-rich. Enrich your soil with compost or well-rotted manure if it is poor.

Sunlight is an important selection consideration. ‘Green Wizard’ likes full sun and should get at least six hours of direct sun per day. Partial shade is acceptable, especially in warmer climates when the afternoon sun can be damaging. A little afternoon shade also may allow the plant to avoid wilting at the hottest part of the day.

Planting

The best time to set out Rudbeckia ‘Green Wizard’ is in spring, after the last frost date of the season: if indoors, 6-8 weeks before the last frost date, then transplant seedlings into the garden once the soil has warmed; alternatively, you can set out young plants purchased from the nursery.

Space plants at least 2 to 3 feet apart when planting to allow for air movement and to accommodate their ultimate mature size. Dig a hole a little larger than the root ball. Plant the plant in the hole and backfill with soil. Give the plants a good soak after planting to help them establish.

Watering and Mulching

Keep the soil evenly moist during the first growing season to encourage a robust root system, and then Green Wizard will be fairly drought-tolerant, though it will bloom best when watered regularly in dry times.

While in place, add mulch around the plants to hold soil moisture and smother weeds — use a layer of organic mulch, such as wood chips or shredded bark, 2 to 3 inches deep; be sure not to pile it up on the stems.

Fertilization

Rudbeckia ‘Green Wizard’ doesn’t need heavy feeding, but a good spring sprinkling of a balanced, slow-release fertilizer will help the plants grow well and flower profusely. If your soil is particularly poor, you could also feed in midsummer. Don’t overfeed coneflowers because there is a tendency for them to produce lots of leaves but no flowers.

Pruning and Deadheading

If you deadhead (remove the spent flowers) of Rudbeckia ‘Green Wizard’, it will continue to bloom for much longer as many more flowers are produced. Simply snip off finished flowerheads just above the adjacent set of leaves.

At the end of the season, cut everything back to soil level after the first frost, or leave the seed heads standing for winter interest and food for birds. Remove dead foliage in the spring.

Dividing and Propagation

As a perennial, Rudbeckia ‘Green Wizard’ will eventually need to be divided every 3 to 4 years to keep it from crowding and competing vigorously. Dividing is also a great opportunity to grow new plants!

To divide Rudbeckia ‘Green Wizard’, dig up the entire plant either in early spring or in early fall when the plants are dormant. Use a sharp spade or a knife to cut through the root mass into two to five sections, each containing at least one shoot with foliage and one good section of roots. Repot the divisions immediately, spacing them as you go.

Using Rudbeckia ‘Green Wizard’ in Garden Design

Focal Points and Specimen Plantings

Rudbeckia ‘Green Wizard’ makes the perfect specimen plant, as it already stands tall above other plants in the border and its green sepals and cones throw up bright banners all on their own. Try it in front of a wall or fence where its unusual bulbous shape emerges toward the viewer away from the foliage of surrounding plants that might obscure the effect. You could also take advantage of its height by planting it where it draws the eye along a path or to the end of a border. Put it somewhere where you can appreciate the detail, such as near a bench or in the middle of a mixed border.

Mixed Borders and Companion Planting

This cultivar can be paired with many other plants in the garden. It looks striking alongside ornamental grasses such as Helictotrichon sempervirens ‘Squieri’, as well as with coarse or bold, garish perennials such as Echinacea, Phlox, or Helenium to provide a dramatic, color-contrasting effect. However, the sepals of ‘Green Wizard’ hold their own as a foil for these plants and become particularly striking when paired with more fragile flowers, against which they show off their own colors and forms.