When to Plant Decorative Kale in Channahon, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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 Channahon you should be able to determine when it's possible to 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.

Since decorative kale are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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 Channahon 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 decorative kale and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your decorative kale may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your decorative kale indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Channahon. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Channahon may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Channahon last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your decorative kale if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Channahon

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 Channahon

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