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.

You should be able to estimate when you can plant cleome by using the USDA zone info for Sanibel.

Planting Calendar for Cleome

Frost tolerance for cleome:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's a bad idea to plant cleome until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant cleome in Sanibel 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 cleome and expect a good harvest is probably September. 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

In Sanibel the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Sanibel is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Sanibel you get a frost after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to protect your cleome if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sanibel

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Sanibel

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