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.

A way of getting a good idea when you can plant bougainvillea is to look at the USDA zone info for Western Springs.

Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

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

You really shouldn't 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 Western Springs 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your bougainvillea indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Western Springs the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Western Springs and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Western Springs there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your bougainvillea if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Western Springs

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 Western Springs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Western Springs.