The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Grand Rapids you can determine when it's a good idea to plant bougainvillea by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

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

It's not a good idea to 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 Grand Rapids 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 really do well. 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 May 15 in Grand Rapids. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -35°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Grand Rapids is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Grand Rapids you get a frost after May 15 so always be ready to cover your bougainvillea if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Grand Rapids

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 Grand Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Grand Rapids.