One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when you can plant fennel by looking at the USDA zone info for Winona.

Planting Calendar for Fennel

Frost tolerance for fennel:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Fennel are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Winona 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 fully mature. Starting your fennel indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Winona. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Winona is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Winona last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your fennel if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Winona

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Winona

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