When to Plant Fennel in Addison, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Addison 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 tend to make it in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant fennel
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant fennel
Probably not a good time to plant fennel

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Addison 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Addison. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Addison is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Addison you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your fennel in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Addison

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 Addison

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