Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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 estimate when it's a good idea to plant rudbeckia by using the USDA zone info for Eau Claire.

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 means that you can get them planted earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Eau Claire is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant rudbeckia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your rudbeckia may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your rudbeckia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Eau Claire. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Eau Claire is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Eau Claire there is a last frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your rudbeckia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Eau Claire

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Eau Claire

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Eau Claire.