The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when you can plant fennel is to check out the USDA zone info for Gretna.

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 get them planted much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Gretna is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant fennel and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your fennel may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your fennel indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Gretna. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Gretna is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Gretna last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your fennel if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gretna

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Gretna

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