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

The USDA zone info for Buffalo can be reviewed to estimate 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 tend to make it in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The last month that you can plant fennel and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your fennel may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your fennel indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Buffalo. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Buffalo is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Buffalo it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to cover your fennel if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Buffalo

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°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 -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Buffalo

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