One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Ripon it's possible to estimate when to plant cleome.

Planting Calendar for Cleome

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

Since cleome require warm weather it is important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cleome in Ripon 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 cleome and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your cleome may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cleome indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Ripon the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ripon is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ripon it frosts late in the year after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your cleome if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ripon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Ripon

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