When to Plant Bougainvillea in Chesterton, IN

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant bougainvillea by referring to the USDA zone info for Chesterton.


Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

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

Since bougainvillea are not cold tolerant it's necessary to wait until after the last frost 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 Chesterton 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Chesterton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chesterton may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Chesterton 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 Chesterton

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 Chesterton

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