When to Plant Cleome in Wheeling, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Wheeling can be read to figure out when it's a good idea 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.

You really shouldn't plant cleome until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

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 Wheeling 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cleome indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Wheeling the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Wheeling may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Wheeling there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your cleome in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Wheeling

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 Wheeling

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