When to Plant Bougainvillea in Shenandoah, IA

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.

You will be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant bougainvillea by looking at the USDA zone info for Shenandoah.


Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

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

Bougainvillea require warm weather which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed 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 Shenandoah 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your bougainvillea indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Shenandoah. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Shenandoah is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Shenandoah you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your bougainvillea if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Shenandoah

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

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

Plants to Grow in Shenandoah

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