When to Plant Decorative Kale in Waltham, MA

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The first opportunity to plant decorative kale in Waltham can be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.


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 ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little 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 Waltham 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. Starting your decorative kale indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Waltham. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Waltham may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Waltham you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your decorative kale if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Waltham

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Waltham

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