When to Plant Decorative Kale in Rockville, MD

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Rockville you can determine when to plant decorative kale by checking out 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.

Since decorative kale are moderately cold tolerant 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 Rockville 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. 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. Starting your decorative 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 Rockville. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rockville may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Rockville you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your decorative kale if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rockville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Rockville

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