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.

The first opportunity to plant cleome in Detroit can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cleome

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

You really shouldn't 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 Detroit 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Detroit. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Detroit is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Detroit you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your cleome in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Detroit

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Detroit

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