One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant rudbeckia in Manteca should be figured out by reviewing 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.

Since rudbeckia are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The last month that you can plant rudbeckia and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your rudbeckia may not have a chance to really do well. 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 February 15 in Manteca. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Manteca may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Manteca it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your rudbeckia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Manteca

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Manteca

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Manteca.