When to Plant Fennel in Santa Fe, NM

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. 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 Santa Fe can be estimated by using 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.

Fennel do well in cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant fennel
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant fennel
Probably not a good time to plant fennel

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Santa Fe 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your fennel indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Fe is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Santa Fe you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your fennel in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Fe

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Fe

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Fe.