When to Plant Bougainvillea in Dixon, IL

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.

One way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant bougainvillea is to consult the USDA zone info for Dixon.


Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

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

Bougainvillea do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of 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 Dixon 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 grow to maturity. Starting your bougainvillea indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Dixon. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Dixon is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Dixon you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your bougainvillea if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Dixon

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 Dixon

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