When to Plant Rudbeckia in Zone 7b

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's a good idea to plant rudbeckia is to check out the USDA zone info for Zone 7b.

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Planting Calendar for Rudbeckia

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

Since rudbeckia are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant rudbeckia
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant rudbeckia
Probably not a good time to plant rudbeckia

The earliest that you can plant rudbeckia in Zone 7b 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. If you are starting your rudbeckia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 7b the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 7b is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 7b it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your rudbeckia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 7b

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 Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°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 Zone 7b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 7b.