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

In Ionia you can estimate when it's possible to plant fennel by looking at 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 get them planted much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Ionia 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 really do well. Starting your fennel indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Ionia is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Ionia last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your fennel if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ionia

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 Ionia

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