Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to estimate when it's a good idea to plant rudbeckia by looking at the USDA zone info for Vandalia.

Planting Calendar for Rudbeckia

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

You can plant rudbeckia a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Vandalia 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your rudbeckia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Vandalia. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Vandalia is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Vandalia last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your rudbeckia if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Vandalia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Vandalia

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