One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Hood River can be determined by looking at 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.

You can plant rudbeckia a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Hood River 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your rudbeckia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Hood River. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Hood River is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Hood River it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your rudbeckia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hood River

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 Hood River

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Hood River.