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.

The USDA zone info for Elkins should be used to determine 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 all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably not a good idea to plant black eyed susans until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant black eyed susans in Elkins 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your black eyed susans indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Elkins the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Elkins and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Elkins you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your black eyed susans in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Elkins

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 Elkins

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