Ornamental Kale is a perennial grown for its blooms, which open from spring through fall and return year after year. It's hardy across USDA zones 2 through 10. Its flowers are a moderate draw for honeybees and native bees. It roots deep, which helps it reach moisture in a dry spell and open up tight soil as it establishes.
Ornamental Kale — the short answer
Ornamental Kale: grown in zones 2–10, part sun, pH 5.5–8.5, about 75 days to maturity.
- USDA zones
- 2–10
- Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
- Soil pH
- 5.5–8.5
- FAO ECOCROP
- Sun
- Part Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Days to Maturity
- 75 days
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Frost-kill temp (growing season)
- 23°F
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
Score Ornamental Kale on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether ornamental kale actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score ornamental kale against your land's real conditions.
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What Ornamental Kale is
Ornamental Kale grows as a perennial and reaches around a foot and a half at maturity. It blooms from spring through fall.
How to grow Ornamental Kale
Ornamental Kale grows in USDA zones 2 through 10. Ornamental Kale does best in part sun — at least 4 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5.5 to 8.5, on well-drained ground. It needs around 500 growing degree days to mature and a growing season of at least 60 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
2-10
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
5.5 - 8.5
FAO ECOCROP
Sun
Part Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost Kill Temperature
23°F
Where cold starts killing growing tissue. Not a winter-survival floor — a dormant perennial takes far colder, which its hardiness zone answers.
Growable Ground Plant Database
Minimum Growing Temperature
41°F
Below this it stops growing rather than dies — a pace limit, not a survival limit.
Growable Ground Plant Database
Days to Maturity
75 days
Growable Ground plant catalog
GDD Required
500+
Growing degree-days of accumulated warmth it needs to mature — humid summers reach this faster than cool coastal ones.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
1.5 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
60+
The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant ornamental kale in part sun with at least 4 hours of direct sun. It grows in the cool halves of the year, so sow it in spring or late summer rather than waiting for midsummer heat.
Match the soil
Ornamental Kale prefers pH 5.5 to 8.5 (FAO ECOCROP). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Harvest at its peak
Cut ornamental kale blooms in the cool of the morning, just as they open, for the longest display.
Where Ornamental Kale thrives
On hardiness alone, ornamental kale grows across most of the country — its range (USDA zones 2 through 10) is unusually wide. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 2–10 spans average winter lows from -50°F to 40°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 47 outright and splits 4 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 2–10·Where Ornamental Kale growsOpen map →
Continental US shown — Alaska and US Pacific territories sit outside the federal map's polygon dataset.
This map is derived from the USDA ARS / PRISM Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) and is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Where Ornamental Kale stands, state by state
Ornamental Kale is rated for zones 2–10 — a cold floor USDA puts at -50 to -40°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 47 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 4 more, and 0 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 2–10
47 states
3 of 47 shown
The line runs through
4 states
- Alaska · zones 1a-9a
- California · zones 4b-11a
- Florida · zones 8b-12a
3 of 4 shown
Ornamental Kale’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Ornamental Kale
Growing guides for ornamental kale
In rotation planning, ornamental kale counts as a Brassica — beds recover best when brassica crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Related plants in annual flower
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — ornamental kale isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Ornamental Kale offers moderate value to bees and other pollinators. (Source: Pollinator Partnership.)
Your land is one point inside Ornamental Kale's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Ornamental Kale will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether ornamental kale actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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How we know this about Ornamental Kale
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•USDA PHZM•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Ornamental Kale in my zone?
Ornamental Kale grows in USDA hardiness zones 2 through 10 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
When should you plant Ornamental Kale?
Ornamental Kale is a cool-season crop, so it goes in during the cool halves of the year — early spring, and again in late summer for a fall planting — rather than at the height of summer heat. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Ornamental Kale need?
Ornamental Kale does well in partial sun — around 4 hours of direct sun, and it takes some afternoon shade in stride. That flexibility makes it a good match for a bed the house or a nearby tree shades for part of the day. A Growable Ground report maps how the sun actually falls on your land, hour by hour, so you can set it where the light lines up.
What soil does Ornamental Kale need?
Ornamental Kale prefers soil pH 5.5 to 8.5, on well-drained ground (FAO ECOCROP). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Ornamental Kale attract pollinators?
Yes — ornamental kale's flowers are a solid nectar source for honeybees and native bees. (Source: Pollinator Partnership.)
Is Ornamental Kale safe for pets?
Ornamental Kale is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)
Keep exploring Ornamental Kale
Ornamental Kale state by state
Every state ornamental kale's zone reaches — 26 link straight to that state's ornamental kale growing page; the rest open the state's full growing guide.