One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Matthews should be read to determine when you can plant decorative kale.

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

The earliest that you can plant decorative kale in Matthews 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your decorative kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Matthews. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Matthews is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Matthews you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your decorative kale in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Matthews

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Matthews

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