One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 common way of making a decision about when you can plant bougainvillea is to use the USDA zone info for Ypsilanti.

Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

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

Since bougainvillea do not do well in cold weather you have to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in Ypsilanti 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ypsilanti. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ypsilanti may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ypsilanti you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your bougainvillea if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ypsilanti

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 Ypsilanti

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