When to Plant Fennel in Zone 9a

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Zone 9a can be used to estimate when it's a good idea to plant fennel.


Planting Calendar for Fennel

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

Since fennel do well in cold you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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 Zone 9a is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant fennel and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your fennel may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your fennel indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 9a the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 9a is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 9a last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your fennel in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 9a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low20°F
Highest Expected Low25°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 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 9a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 9a.