One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 common way of getting a good idea when you can plant fennel is to refer to the USDA zone info for Yelm.

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 cold which tells us that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Yelm 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. Starting your fennel indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Yelm is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Yelm you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your fennel in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Yelm

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 Yelm

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