One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Cedar Falls you can estimate when it's the best time to plant fennel by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Fennel

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

Fennel are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Cedar Falls 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your fennel indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Cedar Falls the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Cedar Falls is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Cedar Falls it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your fennel in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cedar Falls

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Cedar Falls

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cedar Falls.