One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

A way of figuring out when you can plant fennel is to use the USDA zone info for Winterville.

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 a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Winterville 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your fennel indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Winterville. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Winterville may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Winterville there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your fennel if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Winterville

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 Winterville

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