Sunny-border profiles: coreopsis, echinacea, gaillardia, peony, salvia and daylily.
Compare the botanical identities, source-listed light and soil conditions, container evidence and local-calendar inputs for black-eyed Susan, coreopsis, daylily, echinacea, gaillardia, peony, salvia.
Choose the plant before choosing the quantity
A perennial-border order needs individual mature footprints and an annual or perennial identity record. Genus-wide summaries can include contrasting selections. Flowering season helps arrange a comparison, but it does not establish planting dates or guarantee a flowering result at another site.
The entries report the cited taxon’s growing conditions and descriptive dimensions. A mature width is separate from planting spacing; multiple light, moisture or life-cycle categories can reflect a genus, cultivar range or climate differences. Use the exact nursery label and local guidance to choose inputs. Soil categories describe the source record and supply no amendment recipe.
Black-eyed Susan
Black-eyed Susan: the cited botanical record is Rudbeckia hirta. This example is Rudbeckia hirta; perennial Rudbeckia species have separate profiles.
Source-listed light conditions: full sun, partial shade. Drainage and moisture descriptions: good drainage, moist, occasionally dry. Soil categories: clay, loam (silt), sand. Listed soil pH categories: Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0).
Reference dimensions: height: 2 ft 0 in to 4 ft 0 in; width: 1 ft 0 in to 2 ft 0 in. Life cycle listed: biennial, perennial. Flowering season in the reference region: spring, summer. The source’s location field does not establish container use; request a cultivar-specific container record.
Coreopsis
Coreopsis: the cited botanical record is Coreopsis lanceolata. The genus includes annual and perennial forms; keep those life cycles separate.
Source-listed light conditions: full sun, partial shade. Drainage and moisture descriptions: good drainage, moist, occasionally dry. Soil categories: loam (silt), sand, shallow rocky. Listed soil pH categories: Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0).
Reference dimensions: height: 1 ft 0 in to 3 ft 0 in; width: 1 ft 0 in to 2 ft 0 in. Life cycle listed: perennial. Flowering season in the reference region: spring, summer. The source’s location field does not establish container use; request a cultivar-specific container record.
Source: NC State Extension Plant Toolbox: Coreopsis lanceolata
Daylily
Daylily: the cited botanical record is Hemerocallis. This is an ornamental genus record; it does not establish culinary use or animal safety.
Source-listed light conditions: full sun, partial shade. Drainage and moisture descriptions: good drainage, occasionally dry. Soil categories: high organic matter.
Reference dimensions: height: 1 ft 0 in to 3 ft 0 in; width: 1 ft 0 in to 3 ft 0 in. Life cycle listed: perennial. Flowering season in the reference region: spring, summer. The source’s location field does not establish container use; request a cultivar-specific container record.
Echinacea
Echinacea: the cited botanical record is Echinacea purpurea. Purple coneflower is the example; this guide makes no medicinal claim.
Source-listed light conditions: full sun, partial shade. Drainage and moisture descriptions: good drainage, moist, occasionally dry. Soil categories: clay, high organic matter, loam (silt), sand, shallow rocky. Listed soil pH categories: Neutral (6.0-8.0).
Reference dimensions: height: 3 ft 0 in to 4 ft 0 in; width: 1 ft 0 in to 2 ft 0 in. Life cycle listed: perennial. Flowering season in the reference region: summer. The source’s location field does not establish container use; request a cultivar-specific container record.
Source: NC State Extension Plant Toolbox: Echinacea purpurea
Gaillardia
Gaillardia: the cited botanical record is Gaillardia. Annual and perennial blanket flowers differ; establish the botanical selection and life cycle.
Source-listed light conditions: full sun. Drainage and moisture descriptions: good drainage. Soil categories: loam (silt), sand, shallow rocky.
Reference dimensions: height: 1 ft 6 in to 2 ft 0 in; width: 1 ft 0 in to 1 ft 6 in. Life cycle listed: perennial. Flowering season in the reference region: fall, spring, summer. Container use is explicitly listed in the source.
Peony
Peony: the cited botanical record is Paeonia — Herbaceous Types. Herbaceous, intersectional and woody peony types need different identity and size records.
Source-listed light conditions: full sun, partial shade. Drainage and moisture descriptions: good drainage. Soil categories: clay, high organic matter. Listed soil pH categories: Acid (<6.0).
Reference dimensions: height: 1 ft 0 in to 3 ft 0 in; width: 1 ft 0 in to 3 ft 0 in. Life cycle listed: perennial. Flowering season in the reference region: spring, summer. The source’s location field does not establish container use; request a cultivar-specific container record.
Source: NC State Extension Plant Toolbox: Paeonia – Herbaceous Types
Salvia
Salvia: the cited botanical record is Salvia. The genus contains annual and perennial plants; the generic label does not identify culinary sage.
Source-listed light conditions: full sun, partial shade. Drainage and moisture descriptions: good drainage. Soil categories: clay, high organic matter, loam (silt), sand, shallow rocky.
Reference dimensions: height: 1 ft 0 in to 3 ft 0 in; width: 1 ft 0 in to 3 ft 0 in. Life cycle listed: annual, perennial. Flowering season in the reference region: fall, spring, summer. Container use is explicitly listed in the source.
Check the container and watering record
Where container use is listed, confirm the exact cultivar’s intended pot, drainage and medium with the nursery. A garden plant’s descriptive width does not determine a pot diameter or root-volume requirement. For dwarf trees, keep the named rootstock or compact cultivar dimensions with that record.
Observe the medium and follow the selected plant’s care instructions. A source describing moist soil does not supply a weekly irrigation volume. Pot size, plant size, medium and exposure belong in the watering record. Calculate litres only after the selected pot’s remaining fill has been measured.
Build a local planting calendar
Record your location, the selected cultivar and whether the purchase is seed, dormant stock or an actively growing plant. Obtain the local sowing or transplanting window for that material from the regional extension service or nursery. Record that window separately from the flowering season shown in the reference. Frost exposure, soil workability and the crop form can make a month from another region unsuitable.
For mixed orders, keep separate rows for each selection, its planned date, supplied along-row and across-row spacing and replacements. A species-wide width or a hardiness-zone label is insufficient to choose all of those values. This plan uses nursery or local guidance and contains no pesticide or nutrient treatment.
Turn the selected plan into a plant and bag order
For an independent illustrative 2 m by 1 m bed, supplied margins of 0.25 m on all sides and supplied spacings of 0.5 m in each direction produce four positions by two positions: eight plants. These are arithmetic inputs, not recommended spacings for the plants above. If the approved selection is sold in four-plant packs, the order is two packs.
For a separate container order with three measured empty-fill requirements of 8 L each, the total is 24 L. One selected 40 L bag covers the stated volume before any separately supplied allowance. The Soil Calculator calculates litres; it does not choose the growing medium, the container or a load-bearing location.
Use the matching calculator
Use this decision sequence
- Identify the exact species, crop type and cultivar or rootstock.
- Check the relevant source and local nursery guidance for growing conditions and planting window.
- Record supplied plant spacings or the selected container’s measured fill.
- Calculate positions and whole purchase packs separately for each selection.
Keep the quantities distinct
| Quantity or assumption | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Botanical record | A named example or genus record, not identification of an unknown plant. |
| Mature width | Descriptive size, separate from the selected planting spacing. |
| Planting date | A local window for the actual seed, dormant stock or transplant. |
| Watering | A plant and medium care decision, not the bed’s geometric volume. |
Worked comparison
A supplied four-by-two position plan contains eight plants and needs two four-plant packs. A separate three-pot order with 8 L of measured empty fill per pot needs 24 L of the selected medium, covered by one 40 L bag before any separately selected allowance.
Check before using the estimate
Check the exact cultivar and local restrictions before ordering. No species-wide figure establishes container fit, edible identity, support strength or planting success.
All dimensions, product properties, prices and specifications in this example are illustrative arithmetic inputs. Use the values from your measured plan, selected product data sheet and supplier quote. This guide does not choose construction specifications or certify safety.
Sources and product references
- NC State Extension: Rudbeckia hirta
- NC State Extension: Coreopsis lanceolata
- NC State Extension: Hemerocallis
- NC State Extension: Echinacea purpurea
- NC State Extension: Gaillardia
- NC State Extension: Paeonia – Herbaceous Types
- NC State Extension: Salvia
References support the factual distinctions and scope described above. Growing guidance is regional and care instructions are product-specific. Worked numerical examples are independent illustrative arithmetic.
Calculation and scope checked 2026-10-13. Methods and scope.
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