When to Plant Bougainvillea in Zone 3b

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

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in Zone 3b should be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

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

Bougainvillea do not do well in cold weather which means that you need to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant bougainvillea
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant bougainvillea
Probably not a good time to plant bougainvillea

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in Zone 3b is May. However, you really should wait until June 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. Starting your bougainvillea indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Zone 3b. You should expect an average low temperature of -35°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 3b and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Zone 3b it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to cover your bougainvillea if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-35°F
Highest Expected Low-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3b.