frostdate name logo in white
frostdate name logo in white

When to Plant Decorative Kale in Minooka, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

It's possible to estimate when it's a good idea to plant decorative kale by reviewing the USDA zone info for Minooka.


Planting Calendar for Decorative Kale

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

Decorative Kale do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than other plants that might not handle 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 Minooka 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. If you wait 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Minooka. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Minooka and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Minooka you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your decorative kale in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Minooka

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 Minooka

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