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.

You should be able to figure out when you can plant decorative kale by looking at the USDA zone info for Shelby.

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 Shelby 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 really do well. 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 Shelby. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Shelby is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Shelby there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your decorative kale if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Shelby

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 Shelby

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