One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant rudbeckia is to check out the USDA zone info for Madisonville.

Planting Calendar for Rudbeckia

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

Rudbeckia do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Madisonville 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your rudbeckia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Madisonville. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Madisonville may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Madisonville it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your rudbeckia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madisonville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Madisonville

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