The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant cleome is to examine the USDA zone info for Lima.

Planting Calendar for Cleome

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

Cleome do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cleome in Lima 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 little bit earlier by starting your cleome indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Lima the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Lima is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Lima it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your cleome if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lima

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 Lima

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