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.

One way of determining when you can plant fennel is to look at the USDA zone info for Golden.

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 quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Golden 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your fennel may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your fennel indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Golden the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Golden is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Golden there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your fennel if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Golden

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

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

Plants to Grow in Golden

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