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

You will be able to determine when you can plant fennel by checking out the USDA zone info for Melbourne.

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 a lot earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Melbourne 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 really do well. If you are starting your fennel indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Melbourne. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Melbourne and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Melbourne you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your fennel in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Melbourne

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 Melbourne

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