When to Plant Fennel in Blacksburg, VA

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.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant fennel in Blacksburg 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.

Fennel are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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 Blacksburg 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. If you wait any later than that and your fennel may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your fennel indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Blacksburg the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Blacksburg is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Blacksburg there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your fennel if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Blacksburg

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 Low0°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 Blacksburg

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