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

It's a good idea to determine when to plant rudbeckia by referring to the USDA zone info for Durham.

Planting Calendar for Rudbeckia

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

Rudbeckia do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Durham 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 fully mature. 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 Durham. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Durham and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Durham you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your rudbeckia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Durham

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 Durham

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