One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 USDA zone info for Alexandria should be looked at 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 the last frost has passed.

Cleome require warm weather which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cleome in Alexandria 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. If you are starting your cleome indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Alexandria. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

It's important to 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 Alexandria and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Alexandria it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your cleome in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alexandria

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Alexandria

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