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

One way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant rudbeckia is to consult the USDA zone info for Lake Elmo.

Planting Calendar for Rudbeckia

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

Rudbeckia tend to make it in some cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Lake Elmo is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant rudbeckia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait 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

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Lake Elmo. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Lake Elmo is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Lake Elmo it frosts late in the year after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your rudbeckia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Elmo

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°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 -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Lake Elmo

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Elmo.