The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Rantoul can be reviewed to estimate when it's possible to 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.

Since flowering kale are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant flowering kale in Rantoul 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your flowering kale may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your flowering kale indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Rantoul. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rantoul is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Rantoul there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your flowering kale in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rantoul

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 Rantoul

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