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 USDA zone info for Merced can be reffered to in order to figure out 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 all chance of frost has passed.

Bougainvillea are not cold tolerant which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in Merced 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. Any later than that and your bougainvillea may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your bougainvillea indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Merced. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Merced and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Merced last frost occurs after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your bougainvillea in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Merced

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 Merced

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