A Rudbeckia Thief? [View all]

This spring I ordered six beautiful "Prairie Sun" rudbeckia (black-eyed susans) from WFF for a full-sun area of the back garden. Planted them and they settled in beautifully, put their roots down, and just started to send up flower scapes.

Cut some Thursday, they last beautifully in an arrangement.

This morning I went out and found that two of the plants were gone. Just... gone. Zapped by a disintegration ray?

The dirt was barely disturbed (and we have adobe clay in the soil in that area, so if they'd been yanked up I think there'd have been signs), but there was no remnant of the plant, not even a stump or roots, as far as I could tell.

We have (as far as I know) no deer in the area. Houses are very close together and there's a stone wall 5' or better at the back.

What would eat a whole, flowering rudbeckia plant?

Anyone know?

bewilderedly,
Bright