One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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 using the USDA zone info for Irvine it's a good idea to figure out when you can 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.

Bougainvillea are not cold tolerant which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in Irvine is February. However, you really should wait until March 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. 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on January 31 in Irvine. You should expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Irvine is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Irvine last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to protect your bougainvillea if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Irvine

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Irvine

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