The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant decorative kale in Richmond should be estimated 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.

Since decorative kale are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant decorative kale in Richmond is January. However, you really should wait until February 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 October. If you wait any later than that and your decorative kale may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your decorative kale indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Richmond. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Richmond may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Richmond you get a frost after February 15 so always be ready to protect your decorative kale in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Richmond

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Richmond

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