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.

You should be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant bougainvillea by reviewing the USDA zone info for Forest Park.

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 do not do well in cold weather which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in Forest Park 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. 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

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Forest Park. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Forest Park is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Forest Park it frosts late in the year after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your bougainvillea if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Forest Park

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Forest Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Forest Park.