Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant black eyed susans by checking out the USDA zone info for Washington.

Planting Calendar for Black Eyed Susans

Frost tolerance for black eyed susans:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's not a good idea to plant black eyed susans until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant black eyed susans in Washington is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant black eyed susans and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your black eyed susans may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your black eyed susans indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Washington. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Washington and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Washington you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your black eyed susans in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Washington

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 Washington

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