The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Eldridge you can determine when it's a good idea to plant rudbeckia by using 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.

Rudbeckia do well in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Eldridge 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your rudbeckia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Eldridge. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Eldridge and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Eldridge it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your rudbeckia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Eldridge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Eldridge

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