One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Alpine you will be able to figure out when 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 bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Alpine 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 grow to maturity. Starting your rudbeckia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Alpine. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Alpine may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Alpine last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your rudbeckia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Alpine

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 Alpine

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