One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 looking at the USDA zone info for Royal Oak you should be able to determine 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 the last frost has passed.

It's not a good idea to plant cleome until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant cleome in Royal Oak 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 fully mature. 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Royal Oak. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Royal Oak and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Royal Oak you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your cleome if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Royal Oak

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Royal Oak

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Royal Oak.