One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

One way of estimating when it's possible to plant bougainvillea is to consult the USDA zone info for River Forest.

Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

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

You should not plant bougainvillea until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in River Forest 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your bougainvillea indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in River Forest. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for River Forest may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in River Forest you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your bougainvillea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for River Forest

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in River Forest

You may be interested in your other planting guides for River Forest.