The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Chesapeake you can figure out when to plant cleome by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cleome

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

Since cleome do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cleome in Chesapeake 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. If you wait any later than that and your cleome may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your cleome indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Chesapeake and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Chesapeake there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your cleome if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chesapeake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Chesapeake

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