One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Niles you will be able to figure out when it's a good idea 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.

You can plant decorative kale just a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant decorative kale in Niles 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your decorative kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Niles. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Niles is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Niles it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your decorative kale in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Niles

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

Plants to Grow in Niles

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