One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The first chance to plant fennel in Manhattan can be determined 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 do well in cold which tells us that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Manhattan 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. Any later than that and your fennel may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your fennel indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Manhattan. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Manhattan is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Manhattan it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your fennel in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Manhattan

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Manhattan

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