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.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant bougainvillea is to refer to the USDA zone info for North Chicago.

Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

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

Since bougainvillea are not cold tolerant you have to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in North Chicago 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In North Chicago the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for North Chicago is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in North Chicago last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your bougainvillea if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for North Chicago

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 North Chicago

You may be interested in your other planting guides for North Chicago.