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.

A common way of estimating when to plant fennel is to look at the USDA zone info for Minnetonka.

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 a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Minnetonka 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. 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 little bit earlier by starting your fennel indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Minnetonka the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Minnetonka and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Minnetonka it frosts late in the year after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your fennel if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Minnetonka

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 Minnetonka

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