One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to determine when it's a good idea to plant fennel by referring to the USDA zone info for Chico.

Planting Calendar for Fennel

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

You can plant fennel quite a bit earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Chico 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 fennel and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your fennel may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your fennel indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Chico. 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 is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Chico and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Chico you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your fennel if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chico

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 Chico

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