One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Chapel Hill you can determine when it's a good idea to plant rudbeckia by referring to 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.

Since rudbeckia are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Chapel Hill 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. Any later than that and your rudbeckia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your rudbeckia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Chapel Hill. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chapel Hill is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Chapel Hill there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your rudbeckia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chapel Hill

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Chapel Hill

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Chapel Hill.