The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate 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 Mills River can be determined 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.

Since fennel are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them much earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Mills River 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 fully mature. Starting your fennel indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Mills River. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mills River is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Mills River you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your fennel in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mills River

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Mills River

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mills River.