Campfire Rudbeckia is a golden annual flower with painterly dark markings on petals that evoke the warm glow of firelight. This frost-hardy cultivar of Rudbeckia hirta grows 12 to 36 inches tall and reaches full bloom in about 120 days, thriving in hardiness zones 3 and warmer. The flowers shift dramatically from bright golden yellows to burnt sienna tones, creating the visual drama that inspired its name. It emerged from the wildflower meadows surrounding Blackbird Rise Farm in Maine, where it exists at the beautiful intersection of cultivated garden and wild field.
Full Sun
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3-3
36in H x 12in W
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Moderate
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Golden petals with dark, shadowy markings create the illusion of flickering firelight, a detail so distinctive it shaped the variety's entire identity. This rudbeckia arrived unbidden in the meadows of a Maine seed farm and refused to be categorized as purely wild or purely cultivated, annual or perennial. The color shift from bright gold to burnt sienna as flowers age gives you weeks of shifting beauty in a single planting. Thriving in full sun and poor to moderate soil, it asks very little while delivering outsized visual impact.
Campfire Rudbeckia is grown as an ornamental flower for gardens and cut arrangements. The dramatic color shift from golden yellow to burnt sienna makes it particularly striking in meadow-style plantings and pollinator gardens, where its bright petals attract beneficial insects throughout the blooming season.
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Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost. Sow seeds on the soil surface or barely press them into seed-starting mix, as they need light to germinate. Keep soil moist and maintain temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Seedlings should emerge within 7 to 10 days.
Harden off seedlings gradually over 7 to 10 days before transplanting outdoors after your last frost date. Space transplants 6 inches apart in full sun. Soil temperature should be at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit at planting time.
Direct sow seeds in spring after the last frost date. Press seeds lightly into prepared soil; do not bury them. Thin seedlings to 6 inches apart once they have developed their first true leaves.
Deadhead spent flowers regularly to encourage continuous blooming throughout the season. This simple pruning extends the flowering window and keeps plants looking tidy.
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“Campfire Rudbeckia emerged from the wildflower meadows surrounding Blackbird Rise Farm in Maine, a seed farm named for the red-winged blackbirds drawn to its native wildflowers. Rather than being bred in a lab or preserved through deliberate family selection, this variety appeared organically in the farm's fields, existing at the threshold between wild and cultivated, annual and perennial. Its discovery and collection by the farm represents a different kind of seed preservation: recognizing beauty and garden-worthiness in what simply showed up, then sharing those seeds with gardeners who appreciate the intersection of nature's spontaneity and cultivation.”