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When to Plant Decorative Kale in Janesville, WI

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea to plant decorative kale by referring to the USDA zone info for Janesville.


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 just a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant decorative kale
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant decorative kale
Probably not a good time to plant decorative kale

The earliest that you can plant decorative kale in Janesville 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your decorative kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Janesville the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°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 Janesville and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Janesville you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your decorative kale if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Janesville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Janesville

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