One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when you can plant fennel is to examine the USDA zone info for Jacksonville.

Planting Calendar for Fennel

Frost tolerance for fennel:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since fennel do well in cold you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Jacksonville 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 fennel and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your fennel may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your fennel indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Jacksonville the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Jacksonville is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Jacksonville last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your fennel in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Jacksonville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Jacksonville

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