Perennials: Rudbeckias - annual or perennial?, 1 by perenniallyme

perenniallyme wrote:
I planted 3 Mayas last year that were supposed to be perennial, but none returned. This year I started many varieties from seed, such as cherokee sunset, autumn colors, irish eyes, and a few others. I'd like to know whether to expect them to return (zone 6a) or not. Plantfiles has all listed as both annual and perennial, so is no help. It also lists them as hardy to zone 5a. I've seen seeds and plants advertised some places as annual, some places as perennial.

Can someone with experience growing these please tell me if they're annual or perennial? (I'm not asking about black-eyed susans).
Thanks.