One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant flowering kale is to refer to the USDA zone info for Fairfax.

Planting Calendar for Flowering Kale

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

Since flowering kale are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant flowering kale in Fairfax 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 flowering kale and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your flowering kale may not have a chance to really do well. 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 April 15 in Fairfax. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Fairfax is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Fairfax you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your flowering kale in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fairfax

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 Fairfax

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