One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 Philadelphia should be figured out by using 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.

You can plant decorative kale a little bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant decorative kale in Philadelphia 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 really do well. Starting your decorative kale indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Philadelphia. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Philadelphia is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Philadelphia it frosts late in the year after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your decorative kale in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Philadelphia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Philadelphia

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