Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Richmond can be reffered to in order to determine when to plant flowering kale.

Planting Calendar for Flowering Kale

Frost tolerance for flowering kale:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant flowering 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 flowering 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 flowering kale and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your flowering kale may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your flowering kale indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Richmond. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Richmond and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Richmond it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your flowering kale if you have 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.