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.

You should be able to figure out when to plant fennel by using the USDA zone info for Rancho Santa Margarita.

Planting Calendar for Fennel

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

Fennel can survive in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Rancho Santa Margarita 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. If you wait 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Rancho Santa Margarita the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rancho Santa Margarita is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Rancho Santa Margarita there is a last frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to protect your fennel in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rancho Santa Margarita

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Rancho Santa Margarita

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rancho Santa Margarita.