These flowers reach 3 to 4 inches wide, with petals that shade from zingy cherry-red to deep maroon at the base. Slightly upturned, they are eye-catching even from down the street, so you can imagine what a fully-blooming plant or grouping looks like! Held on very strong stems (hey, they have to support those heavy birds in autumn!), the flowers soak up the sun, even in poor dry soils. Expect them to bloom from early summer well into fall in most climates!
Cherry Brandy holds the distinction of being the first-ever red-flowered Rudbeckia available in seed form, and it will come true from its own seed scattered in your garden, too. That's good, because ALL of your gardening friends are going to want this plant! Deadhead the blooms as soon as they begin to pass, and a new flush will arise. Just remember to keep the last flowers on the plant until they dry out completely, so the birds will be fed and the seeds will fall! Cherry Brandy stands up to heat, humidity, drought, pests, and diseases effortlessly, making it wonderfully low maintenance in the garden!
Cherry Brandy has already won the Fleuroselect Novelty Award in Europe and the Green Thumb Award here in the States. Its combination of a compact habit, large blooms, and completely unique combination of colors wins hearts wherever it goes. And as a biennial (half-hardy annual), it would be short-lived if it didn't reseed itself so generously! Here's a plant that truly has everything a flower-loving gardener desires! North of its hardiness range, grow it as an annual.
The only slow thing about Cherry Brandy is the growth of its seedlings -- they take their time, so sow the seeds in early- to mid-winter in your Bio-Dome or seed flats. (We recommend the Whopper Bio-Dome because the larger bio-sponges will enable your seedlings to grow an extensive root system before transplanting, but the original or jumbo models work fine too.) Alternating temperatures of 68 and 86 degrees F work best, so if you can move it from a chilly to a warm room, or turn off its heat mat every night, that will work fine. The seeds sprout promptly -- 5 to 10 days should do it -- and then very slowly grow. When they have acquired 2 sets of true leaves, they can be transplanted, but make sure all danger of frost is past. From sowing to transplanting typically takes 4 months. Of course, you can also sow the seeds outdoors anytime from spring through late summer, but we recommend starting them indoors to better control the temperature.
If you love Rudbeckia as much as we do, pair Cherry Brandy with another newcomer to the family--the stunning Denver Daisy! Or, if you like a nice mix of singles and doubles, add Cappuccino to the blend! But whatever you do, DO grow Cherry Brandy! It's simply too spectacular to do without! Zones 5-8. Pkt is 25 seeds.
A short-lived perennial that is often grown as an annual. Useful in borders, beds, for naturalizing, and as a fresh cut flower. This vigorous, thick-stemmed, multi-branching plant grows upright from 2-3 feet tall. The summer through fall appearing, daisy-like flowers are 3-6 inches in diameter and come in colors of gold, yellow, bronze, orange, brown, mahogany and have brown, yellow, or black center cones. Flower colors can be zoned or banded and petal arrangement is either single or double. The mid-green leaves are 4 inches long by 21/2 inches wide and the stems and undersides of leaves bear bristly hairs
Superior Germination Through Superior Science
First of all, we have humidity- and temperature-controlled storage, and we never treat any of our seeds with chemicals or pesticides. Nor do we ever sell GMO's (genetically modified seeds), so you always know the products you're buying from us are natural as well as safe for you and the environment.
Superior Standards - University Inspected
Hand Packed By Experienced Technicians
Park Seed has been handling and packing vegetable and flower seeds for 145 years, a history that has given us a great understanding of how each variety should be cared for and maintained throughout every step of theprocess, from collection to shipping.
When packing our seeds, the majority are actually done by hand (with extreme care!), and we often over-pack them, so you're receiving more than the stated quantity.
The Park Seed Gold Standard
Heirloom Seeds are open-pollinated -- they are not hybrids. You can gather and save heirloom seed from year to year and they will grow true to type every year, so they can be passed down through generations. To be considered an heirloom, a variety would have to be at least from the 1940's and 3 generations old (many varieties are much older -- some 100 years or more!).
Hybrid seed are the product of cross-pollination between 2 different parent plants, resulting in a new plant/seed that is different from the parents. Unlike Heirloom seed, hybrid seed need to be re-purchased new every year (and not saved). They usually will not grow true to type if you save them, but will revert to one of the parents they were crossed with and most likely look/taste different in some way.
These flowers reach 3 to 4 inches wide, with petals that shade from zingy cherry-red to deep maroon at the base. Slightly upturned, they are eye-catching even from down the street, so you can imagine what a fully-blooming plant or grouping looks like! Held on very strong stems (hey, they have to support those heavy birds in autumn!), the flowers soak up the sun, even in poor dry soils. Expect them to bloom from early summer well into fall in most climates!
Cherry Brandy holds the distinction of being the first-ever red-flowered Rudbeckia available in seed form, and it will come true from its own seed scattered in your garden, too. That's good, because ALL of your gardening friends are going to want this plant! Deadhead the blooms as soon as they begin to pass, and a new flush will arise. Just remember to keep the last flowers on the plant until they dry out completely, so the birds will be fed and the seeds will fall! Cherry Brandy stands up to heat, humidity, drought, pests, and diseases effortlessly, making it wonderfully low maintenance in the garden!
Cherry Brandy has already won the Fleuroselect Novelty Award in Europe and the Green Thumb Award here in the States. Its combination of a compact habit, large blooms, and completely unique combination of colors wins hearts wherever it goes. And as a biennial (half-hardy annual), it would be short-lived if it didn't reseed itself so generously! Here's a plant that truly has everything a flower-loving gardener desires! North of its hardiness range, grow it as an annual.
The only slow thing about Cherry Brandy is the growth of its seedlings -- they take their time, so sow the seeds in early- to mid-winter in your Bio-Dome or seed flats. (We recommend the Whopper Bio-Dome because the larger bio-sponges will enable your seedlings to grow an extensive root system before transplanting, but the original or jumbo models work fine too.) Alternating temperatures of 68 and 86 degrees F work best, so if you can move it from a chilly to a warm room, or turn off its heat mat every night, that will work fine. The seeds sprout promptly -- 5 to 10 days should do it -- and then very slowly grow. When they have acquired 2 sets of true leaves, they can be transplanted, but make sure all danger of frost is past. From sowing to transplanting typically takes 4 months. Of course, you can also sow the seeds outdoors anytime from spring through late summer, but we recommend starting them indoors to better control the temperature.
If you love Rudbeckia as much as we do, pair Cherry Brandy with another newcomer to the family--the stunning Denver Daisy! Or, if you like a nice mix of singles and doubles, add Cappuccino to the blend! But whatever you do, DO grow Cherry Brandy! It's simply too spectacular to do without! Zones 5-8. Pkt is 25 seeds.
A short-lived perennial that is often grown as an annual. Useful in borders, beds, for naturalizing, and as a fresh cut flower. This vigorous, thick-stemmed, multi-branching plant grows upright from 2-3 feet tall. The summer through fall appearing, daisy-like flowers are 3-6 inches in diameter and come in colors of gold, yellow, bronze, orange, brown, mahogany and have brown, yellow, or black center cones. Flower colors can be zoned or banded and petal arrangement is either single or double. The mid-green leaves are 4 inches long by 21/2 inches wide and the stems and undersides of leaves bear bristly hairs
Superior Germination Through Superior Science
First of all, we have humidity- and temperature-controlled storage, and we never treat any of our seeds with chemicals or pesticides. Nor do we ever sell GMO's (genetically modified seeds), so you always know the products you're buying from us are natural as well as safe for you and the environment.
Superior Standards - University Inspected
Hand Packed By Experienced Technicians
Park Seed has been handling and packing vegetable and flower seeds for 145 years, a history that has given us a great understanding of how each variety should be cared for and maintained throughout every step of theprocess, from collection to shipping.
When packing our seeds, the majority are actually done by hand (with extreme care!), and we often over-pack them, so you're receiving more than the stated quantity.
The Park Seed Gold Standard
Heirloom Seeds are open-pollinated -- they are not hybrids. You can gather and save heirloom seed from year to year and they will grow true to type every year, so they can be passed down through generations. To be considered an heirloom, a variety would have to be at least from the 1940's and 3 generations old (many varieties are much older -- some 100 years or more!).
Hybrid seed are the product of cross-pollination between 2 different parent plants, resulting in a new plant/seed that is different from the parents. Unlike Heirloom seed, hybrid seed need to be re-purchased new every year (and not saved). They usually will not grow true to type if you save them, but will revert to one of the parents they were crossed with and most likely look/taste different in some way.