One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The first chance to plant fennel in New Bern can be determined by looking at 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 do well in cold you can plant them earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in New Bern 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. Any later than that and your fennel may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your fennel indoors.

Last Frost Date

In New Bern the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for New Bern is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in New Bern you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your fennel in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for New Bern

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in New Bern

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Bern.