One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Tinley Park you can determine when to plant fennel by checking out 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 means that you can plant them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Tinley Park 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Tinley Park. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Tinley Park may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Tinley Park you get surprised by a frost 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 Tinley Park

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 Tinley Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Tinley Park.