Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Litchfield you should be able to determine when to plant cleome.

Planting Calendar for Cleome

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

Since cleome require warm weather it is necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cleome in Litchfield is May. However, you really should wait until June 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. Starting your cleome indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Litchfield the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Litchfield may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Litchfield you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your cleome if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Litchfield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Litchfield

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