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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Downers Grove it's possible to determine when to plant rudbeckia.

Planting Calendar for Rudbeckia

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

Rudbeckia are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Downers Grove 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. If you wait any later than that and your rudbeckia may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your rudbeckia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Downers Grove. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Downers Grove is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Downers Grove it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your rudbeckia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Downers Grove

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 Downers Grove

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Downers Grove.