The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine 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 common way of estimating when to plant cleome is to examine the USDA zone info for South Houston.

Planting Calendar for Cleome

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant cleome until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant cleome in South Houston 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 grow to maturity. Starting your cleome indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in South Houston. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for South Houston may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in South Houston you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your cleome in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South Houston

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 South Houston

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Houston.