Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when to plant bougainvillea is to consult the USDA zone info for Muscle Shoals.

Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

Frost tolerance for bougainvillea:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You should not plant bougainvillea until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in Muscle Shoals 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 bougainvillea and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your bougainvillea may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your bougainvillea indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Muscle Shoals. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Muscle Shoals may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Muscle Shoals you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your bougainvillea if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Muscle Shoals

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 Muscle Shoals

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Muscle Shoals.