The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Zone 8b should be used to estimate when it's possible to plant bougainvillea.

Planting Calendar for Bougainvillea

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant bougainvillea until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant bougainvillea in Zone 8b 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your bougainvillea indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Zone 8b. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 8b is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Zone 8b last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your bougainvillea if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 8b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 8b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 8b.