Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Houston you can estimate when it's the best time 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 has passed.

You should not plant bougainvillea until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in Houston 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 fully mature. Starting your bougainvillea indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Houston. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Houston may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Houston it frosts late in the year after February 15 so always be ready to protect your bougainvillea if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Houston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Houston

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