One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

A common way of figuring out when to plant bougainvillea is to examine the USDA zone info for Harlingen.

Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

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

Since bougainvillea are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in Harlingen is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant bougainvillea and expect a good harvest is probably September. 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your bougainvillea indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Harlingen the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Harlingen may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Harlingen last frost occurs after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your bougainvillea if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Harlingen

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Harlingen

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