One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Washington it's possible to estimate 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 the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Cleome are not cold tolerant which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cleome in Washington 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cleome indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Washington is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Washington there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your cleome if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Washington

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 Washington

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