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

You will be able to figure out when you can plant bougainvillea by using the USDA zone info for Waterford.

Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

Frost tolerance for bougainvillea:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You should not plant bougainvillea until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in Waterford 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 really do well. If you are starting your bougainvillea indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Waterford the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Waterford is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Waterford it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your bougainvillea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Waterford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Waterford

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