One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Ashland you should be able to figure out when it's possible to plant cleome.

Planting Calendar for Cleome

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

It's not a good idea to plant cleome until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant cleome in Ashland is May. However, you really should wait until June 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cleome may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cleome indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Ashland. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ashland may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ashland you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your cleome if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ashland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Ashland

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