One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant rudbeckia is to check out the USDA zone info for Fort Stockton.

Planting Calendar for Rudbeckia

Frost tolerance for rudbeckia:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Rudbeckia are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Fort Stockton 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. Starting your rudbeckia indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Fort Stockton the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Fort Stockton is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Stockton there is a last frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your rudbeckia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Stockton

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 Fort Stockton

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Stockton.