The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. 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 Rensselaer should be reffered to in order to figure out when it's the best time to 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.

Decorative Kale do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant decorative kale in Rensselaer 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your decorative kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Rensselaer. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Rensselaer is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Rensselaer you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your decorative kale in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rensselaer

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Rensselaer

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