One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Santa Maria it's a good idea to determine when you can plant cleome.

Planting Calendar for Cleome

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

Cleome are not cold tolerant which means that you have to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cleome in Santa Maria 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Santa Maria. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Maria is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Santa Maria last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your cleome in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Maria

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 Santa Maria

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Maria.