One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 USDA zone info for Painesville can be read to figure out when it's the best time to plant fennel.

Planting Calendar for Fennel

Frost tolerance for fennel:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Fennel are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Painesville 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your fennel may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your fennel indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Painesville. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Painesville is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Painesville there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your fennel in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Painesville

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 Low	0°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 Painesville

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