It depends upon the species. Rudbeckia contains annuals and perennials. Some of the perennials are treated as annuals too such as R. hirta because they don't like our relatively mild wet winters and often rot off. Others such as R. fulvida are tough and hardy perennials with creeping rootstocks and come back year after year, indeed increasing quite strongly too. The form of R. fulvida called 'Goldsturm' has an AGM and is one of the finest late flowering perennials.

Thanks Fractal - a friend gave me some young plants saying they would come back year after year, but I thought they were annual. Will try to find out their name. They are in a nursery bed just now so we'll see what happens over the winter :o)

They're a bit variable anyway - I have a Rudbeckia that's supposed to be an annual, but its been growing now for 7 years, though the patch moves each year by a few inches this way or that.

Thanks Bamboo - here's hoping.

i grew rudbeker goldtrum from seed and it come back gurguss, dun some more this year of the same as i love it and its dead easy to grow .

Thanks Cristina - I'll need to try to find out from my neighbour.