One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. 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 Hephzibah should be used to determine when 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 tells us 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 Hephzibah 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. Any later than that and your fennel may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your fennel indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Hephzibah. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Hephzibah and it is different every year. Half of the time in Hephzibah last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your fennel if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hephzibah

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

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

Plants to Grow in Hephzibah

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