One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 USDA zone info for Monticello should be used to figure out when you can plant decorative kale.

Planting Calendar for Decorative Kale

Frost tolerance for decorative kale:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant decorative kale a little bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant decorative kale in Monticello 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 decorative kale and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your decorative kale may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your decorative kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Monticello. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Monticello may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Monticello it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to cover your decorative kale if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Monticello

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°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 -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Monticello

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