One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Zone 1a you can determine when to plant rudbeckia by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Rudbeckia

Frost tolerance for rudbeckia:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant rudbeckia just a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Zone 1a is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant rudbeckia and expect a good harvest is probably July. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your rudbeckia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your rudbeckia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on June 15 in Zone 1a. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -60°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 1a may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 1a there is a last frost after June 15 be ready to cover your rudbeckia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 1a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 1a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	June 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	July 15
Lowest Expected Low	-60°F
Highest Expected Low	-55°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -60°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -55°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 1a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 1a.