When to Plant Decorative Kale in Vail, CO

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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.

It's a good idea to estimate when to plant decorative kale by using the USDA zone info for Vail.


Planting Calendar for Decorative Kale

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

Since decorative kale are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant decorative kale in Vail 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your decorative kale may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your decorative kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Vail the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Vail may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Vail you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your decorative kale if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Vail

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 Vail

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