When to Plant Fennel in Brookhaven, PA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Brookhaven should be read to estimate when it's possible 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.

Since fennel are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them much 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 Brookhaven 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. Any later than that and 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

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Brookhaven and it is different every year. Half of the time in Brookhaven last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your fennel in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Brookhaven

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 Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°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 Brookhaven

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