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.

The first opportunity to plant fennel in Rockford can be estimated 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 ok in cold weather which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Rockford 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your fennel indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Rockford. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Rockford is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Rockford there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your fennel if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rockford

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 Rockford

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