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

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Springfield can be determined 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.

Since fennel are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Springfield 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your fennel indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Springfield. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Springfield is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Springfield you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your fennel if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Springfield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Springfield

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