One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant black eyed susans is to refer to the USDA zone info for Ogallala.

Planting Calendar for Black Eyed Susans

Frost tolerance for black eyed susans:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's probably a bad idea to plant black eyed susans until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant black eyed susans in Ogallala is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant black eyed susans and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your black eyed susans may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your black eyed susans indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ogallala. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ogallala and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Ogallala last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your black eyed susans if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ogallala

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Ogallala

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