One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The USDA zone info for Emporia can be looked at to determine when you can plant rudbeckia.

Planting Calendar for Rudbeckia

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

Rudbeckia tend to make it in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

In Emporia the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Emporia is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Emporia there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your rudbeckia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Emporia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Emporia

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