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

In Delano you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant fennel by referring to 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 tend to make it in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Delano 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. Any later than that and your fennel may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your fennel indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Delano is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Delano there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to protect your fennel in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Delano

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 Delano

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