One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 Dallas you can determine when it's the best time to plant rudbeckia 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 moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Dallas 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 really do well. Starting your rudbeckia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Dallas. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Dallas is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Dallas you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your rudbeckia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dallas

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 Dallas

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