When to Plant Fennel in Saranac Lake, NY

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant fennel in Saranac Lake should be estimated by checking out 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 very cold tolerant you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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 Saranac Lake is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant fennel and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your fennel may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your fennel indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Saranac Lake the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Saranac Lake is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Saranac Lake it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to protect your fennel in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Saranac Lake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-30°F
Highest Expected Low-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Saranac Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Saranac Lake.