One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

The earliest that you can plant decorative kale in Marion can be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

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 are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant decorative kale in Marion 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your decorative kale indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Marion the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Marion and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Marion last frost occurs after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your decorative kale in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marion

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Marion

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