One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Gulf Shores you will be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant bougainvillea.

Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant bougainvillea until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in Gulf Shores 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 bougainvillea and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your bougainvillea may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your bougainvillea indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Gulf Shores the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Gulf Shores is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Gulf Shores you get a frost after February 15 so always be ready to cover your bougainvillea in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gulf Shores

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 Gulf Shores

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Gulf Shores.