IMHO, its all the same plant but maybe sold by different companies and trying to make it seem different. I sorta noticed from year to year in the seed catalogs that things get renamed. JMHO:)

I have grown prairie sun and irish eyes.. I dont know about the other two..

I find Iris Eyes to have larger flowers and be a superior plant.. I dont find them the same.. however the look of the flower is similiar.. I guess its like comparing modern shrub roses in a similiar hue of color and form.. they are slightly different, but not all that much.

Silverkelt

Irish Eyes has more reflexed petals. The petals are skinny and don't meet.Irish Eyes:
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Prarie Sun has a more marked golden petal color forming a ring around the cone. Petals don't reflex, are fatter and meet one another.
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Karen

I ws'd Pairie Sun a few years ago and they were the most gorgeous flowers in my garden. But... they didn't come back. Then I read somewhere that in our zone 5, they have to be treated as annuals, and started new each year. Not so bad really, because they bloomed like crazy their first and only year.

Thanks Karen, I planted both but the one blooming looks exactly like your picture of Prairie Sun. I should see the difference when Irish Eyes blooms.
I thought I would recognize everything as it blooms.
The other Rudbeckia's I planted should all be easier to identify.
Tiger Eyes
Cherry Brandy
Cherokee Sunset
Cappuccino

Oh no PS is an annual in zone 5? Yikes I bought those seeds and planted them out already.

Oh well, I guess I have to count on the other types I planted.

Cherry Brandy
Regular yellow
Chocolate (got in trade)
Indian Summer?
Autumn colors
and others I forget now

Karen

Actually, a lot of sites list ALL rudbeckia hirtas as annuals. For me, zone 6, I'm lucky if they last 2 years. Generally they do return for a second year, bloom their heads off, then suddenly die. Sometimes they last till I yank them in fall but often bolt around August of the second year. The few that survive to year 3 are poopy and bloom little. I prett much treat them as biennials and yank them if they make it thru the whole second summer.

For anyone trying cherry brandy for the first time, be patient. Don't pass judgement until they've been blooming for a few weeks. Mine were pretty ugly, I thought, when they first opened.
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After they were open a few days the colors changed and I ended up really liking them
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For a long-lived rudbeckia, I think only Goldsturm can make that claim.

Karen

Karen, thanks for the info! I will make sure I collect a lot of seeds this summer so I can sow Ruds each WS season. I love them so much I want to make sure I still have some each year.

Karen

Karen, be aware, too, that ruds will cross pollinate. So if you save seeds from CB, and have different ruds growing nearby, it's likely that the offspring will be different from CB. You can get many pretty things that way. But, if you love CB or Prarie Sun or whatever, and you want that same plant next year, it's best to start again with fresh commercial seeds.

And, if you fail to collect seeds, and just let them drop, they volunteer, too. A lot in my yard!

Other Karen

My P/S lasted 3-4 years, most of my rudbeckia hirta's last about 3-4 years here.. Conditions seem to be right here for that..

But like alot of short lived perennials you will eventually have to replace.. or try something else, They do self seed.. but I grow 4-5 different kinds at once.. so yes, they will cross pollinate..

Silverkelt

I keep in mind the cross polination. I guess I need to order come CB for next ws season. I got my CB in trades.

Karen