One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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 determine when you can plant decorative kale by using the USDA zone info for Gatlinburg.

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 a little earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant decorative kale in Gatlinburg 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Gatlinburg. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

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 Gatlinburg and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Gatlinburg you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your decorative kale in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gatlinburg

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Gatlinburg

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