Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to determine when to plant rudbeckia by using the USDA zone info for Syracuse.

Planting Calendar for Rudbeckia

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

Since rudbeckia do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Syracuse 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your rudbeckia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Syracuse. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Syracuse and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Syracuse you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your rudbeckia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Syracuse

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Syracuse

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