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

In Chehalis you can determine when it's a good idea to plant cleome by looking at 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.

Since cleome are not cold tolerant it's necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cleome in Chehalis 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cleome indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Chehalis. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chehalis is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Chehalis you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your cleome if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chehalis

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 Chehalis

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