frostdate name logo in white
frostdate name logo in white

When to Plant Flowering Kale in Fort Collins, CO

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Fort Collins you should be able to estimate when you can plant flowering kale.


Planting Calendar for Flowering Kale

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

Flowering Kale do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant flowering kale in Fort Collins is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant flowering kale and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your flowering kale may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your flowering kale indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Fort Collins may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Collins it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your flowering kale in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Collins

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 Fort Collins

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Collins.