Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Braidwood you can estimate when to plant fennel by reviewing 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.

You can plant fennel much earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Braidwood 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. If you wait any later than that and your fennel may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your fennel indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Braidwood. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Braidwood is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Braidwood there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your fennel in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Braidwood

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 Braidwood

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