The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In New York you can figure out when it's possible to plant fennel by reviewing 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.

You can plant fennel earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in New York 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your fennel indoors.

Last Frost Date

In New York the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for New York and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in New York you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your fennel if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New York

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 New York

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