One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Hamilton you should be able to determine when it's the best time 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.

Bougainvillea are not cold tolerant which means that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in Hamilton 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 fully mature. Starting your bougainvillea indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Hamilton. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hamilton is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Hamilton you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your bougainvillea in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hamilton

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 Hamilton

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