One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

The best time to plant fennel in Clayton can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Fennel

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

Fennel are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Clayton 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your fennel may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your fennel indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Clayton. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Clayton is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Clayton it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your fennel in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Clayton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Clayton

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