One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when it's possible to plant rudbeckia in Charlotte by using 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.

You can plant rudbeckia just a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Charlotte 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 really do well. Starting your rudbeckia indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Charlotte the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Charlotte is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Charlotte you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your rudbeckia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charlotte

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Charlotte

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