One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

In Mission you can determine when it's a good idea to plant bougainvillea by looking at 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 are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in Mission 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. 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 February 15 in Mission. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mission is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Mission you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your bougainvillea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mission

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 Mission

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