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.

The best time to plant rudbeckia in Forest City should be estimated 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 do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Forest City 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. 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 Forest City. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Forest City is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Forest City there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your rudbeckia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Forest City

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 Forest City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Forest City.