Blackeyed Susans, while generally considered a wildflower, usually pop up in the city as an escaped ornamental. It is often planted in containers or yard plots and also in native wildflower reclamation projects.
In 2026, two specimens popped up in the gutter of Pollock Street in Marconi East, right by the exit from I76. These were almost certainly local ornamental spill-over, as opposed to highway-flower spreading.
On July 11th of 2026, I spotted two specimens growing out of the sidewalk of Darby Road, west of I76 and Vare. These were probably spillover from wildflower reclamation, either along the Schuylkill River Trail or from Univerity of Pennsylvania's Pennovation Center, where they were planted a few years back. These were mowed down by the next time I visited the spot.
There is a sidewalk in Grays Ferry where, in 2026, they had the most spectacular sidewalk spill-over from their garden behind a retaining wall. There were fancy, variegated Blackeyed Susans, Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima) and Snow In Summer (Cerastium tomentosum) growing all along their retaining wall. I visited the spot many times through the summer and a shot of their sidewalk is now the banner on my Redbubble shop.
One Blackeyed Susan plant grew out of the sidewalk corner near the rest of the population. It was competing with a Prickly Lettuce (Lactuna serriola). I gave it a gallery of its own.