The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of determining when it's possible to plant rudbeckia is to consult the USDA zone info for New Bern.

Planting Calendar for Rudbeckia

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

Rudbeckia do well in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in New Bern 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

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in New Bern. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for New Bern may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in New Bern you get a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your rudbeckia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for New Bern

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 New Bern

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Bern.