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 chance to plant bougainvillea in Fort Dodge should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

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

Since bougainvillea do not do well in cold weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in Fort Dodge 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bougainvillea may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your bougainvillea indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Fort Dodge. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Fort Dodge 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 Fort Dodge it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your bougainvillea if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Dodge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Dodge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Dodge.