One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

A way of getting a good idea when to plant fennel is to use the USDA zone info for Bartlett.

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 quite a bit earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Bartlett 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. If you are starting your fennel indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Bartlett. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Bartlett is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Bartlett it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your fennel if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bartlett

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 Bartlett

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