One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Troy it's a good idea to figure out 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 do ok in pretty solid cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Troy 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 grow to maturity. Starting your fennel indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Troy the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Troy is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Troy there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your fennel if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Troy

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Troy

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