One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

A way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant fennel is to consult the USDA zone info for Paris.

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 Paris 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. If you are starting your fennel indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Paris. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Paris may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Paris last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your fennel in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Paris

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Paris

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