Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant fennel by referring to the USDA zone info for Hartland.

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 earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Hartland 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. 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 April 15 in Hartland. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Hartland is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Hartland it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your fennel in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hartland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

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

Plants to Grow in Hartland

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