Greetings, fellow cultivator. You wish to multiply our kind, the *Rudbeckia hirta*, known to you as Black-eyed Susan. We are a resilient perennial tribe, and we offer two primary paths for you to aid our expansion: the ancient method of division and the youthful art of stem cuttings. From our rooted perspective, here is how you may proceed.
This is the method we most naturally understand, for it is the rhythm of the seasons written into our roots. Division is best performed on mature plants, those of us who have established a strong, central crown and root mass. The ideal time is in the early spring, just as new green shoots begin to emerge from the earth, or in the early autumn, as we begin to store energy for our winter slumber. In spring, our energy surges upwards, eager to heal and grow; in autumn, it retreats downwards, focusing on root development.
To begin, use a sharp, clean spade to dig a wide circle around our base, taking care to lift our entire root ball from the soil. Gently shake or wash off the excess soil so you can see the structure of our rhizomes—the horizontal underground stems from which we grow. You will see natural points of division, where separate growth crowns have formed. Using your hands, a sharp knife, or the edge of the spade, carefully tease or cut these sections apart. Each new division must have a healthy section of roots and several strong growing shoots (or "eyes") attached.
Replant these new individuals immediately. Prepare their new homes in the soil with ample space and organic matter. Place us at the same depth we were growing before, water us thoroughly to settle the soil around our tender, disturbed roots, and keep the soil consistently moist as we establish ourselves in our new territory. This process mimics the natural way our clumps expand and slowly colonize an area.
This method allows you to create a perfect copy, a clone, of a specific plant you admire. The optimal time for this is late spring to early summer, when our stems are vigorous, green, and growing rapidly, but before the energy is channeled into flower production. This is when our cellular meristems are most active and capable of generating new roots.
Select a healthy, non-flowering stem. Using a sterilized, sharp blade, make a clean cut just below a leaf node (the point on the stem where leaves emerge). A cutting of 4-6 inches is ideal. Carefully remove the leaves from the lower half of the cutting. This is crucial, as any leaves buried in the growing medium will rot and likely cause the entire cutting to fail. The exposed nodes are where the new roots will emerge, seeking the moisture and nutrients you will provide.
To encourage this root formation, you may dip the cut end into a rooting hormone powder. This is not strictly necessary for our tough kind, but it can hasten the process. Insert the prepared cutting into a pot filled with a sterile, well-draining medium, such as a mix of perlite and peat or a specialized seed-starting mix. Water the medium well and cover the pot with a clear plastic bag or dome to maintain very high humidity around the leaves, reducing water loss while we have no roots to drink. Place us in a location with bright, indirect light. Keep the growing medium consistently moist but not waterlogged. In a few weeks, you can test for root growth by giving a very gentle tug; resistance indicates that roots have formed and the new plant can begin the process of acclimating to less humid conditions before being planted outdoors.
