Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden 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 Louisville should be reffered to in order to determine when it's the best time 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.

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

The earliest that you can plant cleome in Louisville 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 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

In Louisville the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Louisville and it is different every year. Half of the time in Louisville you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your cleome in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Louisville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Louisville

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