One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 common way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant rudbeckia is to use the USDA zone info for Salamanca.

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 a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Salamanca 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 little bit earlier by starting your rudbeckia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Salamanca. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Salamanca is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Salamanca last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your rudbeckia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Salamanca

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Salamanca

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