When to Plant Fennel in Gig Harbor, WA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden 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 you can plant fennel in Gig Harbor 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 very cold tolerant you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to 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 Gig Harbor 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. Starting your fennel indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Gig Harbor the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Gig Harbor is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Gig Harbor it frosts late in the year after March 15 so always be ready to protect your fennel if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gig Harbor

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 Low15°F
Highest Expected Low20°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 Gig Harbor

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Gig Harbor.