One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Lake Geneva it's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea to plant black eyed susans.

Planting Calendar for Black Eyed Susans

Frost tolerance for black eyed susans:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since black eyed susans are not cold tolerant you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant black eyed susans in Lake Geneva is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant black eyed susans and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your black eyed susans may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your black eyed susans indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Lake Geneva is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Lake Geneva it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your black eyed susans if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Geneva

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

Plants to Grow in Lake Geneva

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Geneva.