One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Pittsfield you should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant bougainvillea.

Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

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

Since bougainvillea require warm weather you need to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in Pittsfield 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 grow to maturity. Starting your bougainvillea indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Pittsfield. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Pittsfield is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Pittsfield it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your bougainvillea if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Pittsfield

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 Pittsfield

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