When to Plant Bougainvillea in Brainerd, MN

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.

By using the USDA zone info for Brainerd it's possible to estimate when it's possible to plant bougainvillea.


Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

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

You really shouldn't plant bougainvillea until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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 Brainerd is May. However, you really should wait until June 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. If you wait 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Brainerd. You should expect an average low temperature of -35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Brainerd is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Brainerd last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to cover your bougainvillea if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Brainerd

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-35°F
Highest Expected Low-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Brainerd

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