When to Plant Bougainvillea in Gilroy, CA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Gilroy it's possible to determine when it's the best time to plant bougainvillea.


Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

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

Bougainvillea are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer 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 Gilroy 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 really do well. If you are starting your bougainvillea indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Gilroy. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Gilroy is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Gilroy there is a last frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your bougainvillea if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gilroy

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 Gilroy

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