Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Key West should be looked at to estimate when it's the best time to plant fennel.

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 means that you can start planting them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Key West 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 November. Any later than that and your fennel may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your fennel indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Key West it never frosts. It might get as low as 45°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Key West is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since it never frosts in Key West you do not have to be ready to cover your fennel if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Key West

Here is the info for USDA Zone 11b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	45°F
Highest Expected Low	50°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 45°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 50°F.

Plants to Grow in Key West

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Key West.