One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

A way of getting a good idea when to plant decorative kale is to use the USDA zone info for Cincinnati.

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 well in moderate cold which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant decorative kale in Cincinnati 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your decorative kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Cincinnati the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Cincinnati and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Cincinnati you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your decorative kale in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cincinnati

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Cincinnati

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