Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's the best time to plant rudbeckia is to refer to the USDA zone info for Fort Payne.

Planting Calendar for Rudbeckia

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

Rudbeckia do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Fort Payne is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant rudbeckia and expect a good harvest is probably September. 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 little bit earlier by starting your rudbeckia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Fort Payne. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Fort Payne is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Payne you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your rudbeckia if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Payne

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Payne

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Payne.