When to Plant Bougainvillea in Prospect Heights, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Prospect Heights it's a good idea to estimate when 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 it's necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer 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 Prospect Heights 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 fully mature. Starting your bougainvillea indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Prospect Heights. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Prospect Heights is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Prospect Heights there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your bougainvillea if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Prospect Heights

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 Prospect Heights

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Prospect Heights.