Gardening: black-eyed and brown-eyed susan, part 1

Self-tutoring about garden (wild) flowers: the tutor mentions “susans,” black-eyed and brown-eyed.

The following is according to my understanding.

I mention, in my post from July 12, 2025, that black-eyed susans had arrived in the garden. Well, they lasted throughout the summer, then fall and even winter. They never died back, and may even have been flowering during the very dead of winter. It’s true that last winter wasn’t the coldest; the pansies never gave up, either.

Yet, a question came to mind: are those flowers black-eyed, or brown-eyed susans? I hadn’t heard of brown-eyed susans when I was a kid, but I recently have, and they sound similar to black-eyed susans.

I maintain the belief that the ones in the garden are indeed black-eyed susans, because their leaves all seem single-lobed. Moreover, they seem to produce one, or perhaps two, flowering stems per plant. By contrast, brown-eyed susans, as I understand, tend to branch a lot more than that, and have a habit of producing three-lobed leaves, at least lower down on the plant.

A helpful video about this, The Prairie Orchard: Black and Brown Eyed Susan on the Prairie Orchard August 17, 2014, brings the situation into context. The black-eyed susans indicated therein are what I recognize from the garden: similar height with similar habits. The brown-eyed susans, on the other hand, seem quite different.

There may be even more to say about how to distinguish between black-eyed and brown-eyed susans: I sense perhaps at least one more post about it:)

Interesting, eh?