One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

A way of figuring out when you can plant fennel is to check out the USDA zone info for Rusk.

Planting Calendar for Fennel

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

Fennel do well in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Rusk 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your fennel indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Rusk. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rusk may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Rusk there is a last frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your fennel if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rusk

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Rusk

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