When to Plant Cleome in Washington, IL

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.

In Washington you can estimate when it's possible to plant cleome by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Cleome

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

Since cleome are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant cleome in Washington 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cleome may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your cleome indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Washington. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Washington is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Washington last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your cleome if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Washington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Washington

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