One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The earliest that you can plant cleome in Charleston can be estimated by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cleome

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

You really shouldn't plant cleome until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant cleome in Charleston is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant cleome and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your cleome may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your cleome indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Charleston the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Charleston is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Charleston you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your cleome in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charleston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

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

Plants to Grow in Charleston

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