Georgia Wildlife Federation

Resources < Wildlife Habitats < Guide to Native Plants of Georgia for Wildlife < Redbeckia laciniata

Cutleaf Coneflower truly stands out among the many excellent native Aster Family wildflowers of North America. Its foliage is large, leafy, and unusual among coneflowers. It is deeply cut and serrated, and for this reason alone will turn heads. The flowers also have novelty value. They are broader than other coneflowers, with non-reflexing petals. They are bright yellow, but also subtly tainted with a pale green hue both on the petals and the center disk. En masse or interplanted with other coneflowers, Cutleaf Coneflower looks handsome.

Cutleaf Coneflower naturalizes successfully in moist areas. Among the best habitats to try are wooded meadows or open woodlands where sparse canopy cover allows light but maintains soil moisture levels. Good companion plants include other Rudbeckia species (R. fulgida, hirta, maxima, nitida, and triloba), Echinaceas, butterflyweed, lanceleaf coreopsis, sunflowers (Swamp Sunflower, Garden Sunflower, Jerusalem Artichoke), beebalm, rattlesnake master, false indigos, broomsedge, and indiangrass. In especially dry locations or during hotter parts of the year, Cutleaf Coneflower will perform better with 2-4” of mulch.

Family: Asteraceae (Aster/Daisy)

Description: Upright herbaceous perennial. Roots are fibrous and fleshy. Stems are erect, single or multiply branched, and smooth. Leaves are 50 cm long and 25 cm broad, alternate, with blades deeply lobed to resemble maple leaves, and serrated margins. Blooms are ray and disk flowers 6 cm in diameter, with yellow-green petals/rays and greenish-yellowish-brown disk flowers, occurring in mid to late summer. Fruits are small achenes, in fall.

Size: 2-9 feet tall and 1-3 feet wide

Habit: Herbaceous perennial

Planting and Care: Cutleaf Coneflower is not as drought tolerant as its relatives. Use ample mulch (2-4”) around the plants, and irrigate when plants show signs of stress during hot and dry times of the year. Properly siting plants greatly minimizes the required care. Plants may be pinched or terminally disbudded to promote great flowering.

Ornamental Value: Assets include the odd flower colors compared to the bright yellows and purple of other coneflowers and Rudbeckias. Cutleaf Coneflower has eerily greenish rays and greenish-yellow disk flowers. The combined effect is surreal, especially when its relatives are nearby for quick and easy comparison. The foliage is the best attraction to this plant, and is highly desirable and different from other coneflowers.

Landscape Use: Use Cutleaf Coneflower in a manner similar to other Rudbeckias and Coneflowers, except it will require slightly more access to moisture. It is useful for naturalizing wet spots, in containers, in mass plantings, or as a specimen. It also works well near surface water or downspouts.

Wildlife Benefits: Cutleaf Coneflower’s foliage is of high value to browsing animals like deer and rabbits. They especially favor succulent new growth as well as flower buds. Flowers serve as late summer and fall food sources for nectariferous insects. Seeds are eaten by songbirds. Cutleaf Coneflower is also a foliar host for the amazingly colorful caterpillar of the Silvery Checkerspot butterfly. It has patterned splotches of black and white and truly does resemble a checkerboard.

Native Habitat: Wide ranging across North America from New England and Quebec west to New Brunswick, south to Arizona (excluding the Pacific Northwest and California), and east to Florida. Preferred habitats include rich low woods, streambanks, floodplains, woodlands along lakes and sloughs, and wet thickets.