Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of determining when it's possible to plant cleome is to refer to the USDA zone info for Benton Harbor.

Planting Calendar for Cleome

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

Since cleome require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cleome in Benton Harbor 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 cleome and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your cleome may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your cleome indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Benton Harbor. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Benton Harbor is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Benton Harbor you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your cleome if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Benton Harbor

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Benton Harbor

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Benton Harbor.