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.

In Santa Fe you can figure out when 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 the last frost.

Since bougainvillea require warm weather it's important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in Santa Fe 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your bougainvillea indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Santa Fe. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Fe is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Santa Fe last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your bougainvillea if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Fe

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Fe

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Fe.