One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant fennel in Rantoul can be estimated 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 very cold tolerant which means that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

In Rantoul the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rantoul and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Rantoul it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your fennel in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rantoul

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 Rantoul

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