When to Plant Bougainvillea in Atherton, CA

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

The first opportunity to plant bougainvillea in Atherton should be determined by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

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

Bougainvillea require warm weather which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant bougainvillea
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant bougainvillea
Probably not a good time to plant bougainvillea

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in Atherton 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bougainvillea may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your bougainvillea indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Atherton the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Atherton and it is different every year. Half of the time in Atherton you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your bougainvillea if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Atherton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Atherton

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