When to Plant Rudbeckia in West Chester, PA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for West Chester should be used to determine when it's the best time to plant rudbeckia.


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 little earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant rudbeckia
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant rudbeckia
Probably not a good time to plant rudbeckia

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in West Chester 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your rudbeckia may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your rudbeckia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In West Chester the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for West Chester 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 West Chester there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your rudbeckia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Chester

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in West Chester

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Chester.