Safe to Plant

Florence fennel · The Bronx, New York, United States

When to plant florence fennel in The Bronx

Main outdoor window

29 Apr - 20 May

The window this page is built around.

Timed from last spring frost

15 April

In The Bronx, on your chosen risk.

Ready to pick

1 Aug - 30 Nov

If you plant at the start of the window.

The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.

Step by step in The Bronx

Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.

Sow direct

29 Apr - 20 May

Two weeks after your last frost.

Harvest

1 Aug - 30 Nov

Sow in succession. A single sowing gives you a single glut. Sow a short row every 21 days through the window above and you get a steady supply instead.
Frost tolerance
Half-hardy
Damaged below
-4°C (24.8°F)
Days to maturity
80–100
Min soil temp
10°C (50°F)
Spacing
30 cm
Sowing depth
10 mm (0.4 in)
Sun
Full

Florence fennel through the year

Against the frost risk in The Bronx

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Frost risk Sow direct Harvest Today

Why these dates

Sow after midsummer rather than in spring, roughly two weeks after the last frost at the earliest. Shortening days are what make it bulb up instead of run to seed.

Takes about -4C. A cold snap after sowing is itself enough of a check to trigger bolting, which is another argument for the later sowing.

Seed packets and extension guides express timing as weeks either side of the last spring frost, because that is the only reference point that travels. Florence fennel are timed for direct sowing 2 weeks after it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for The Bronx.

The median frost-free season here is 203 days, against 80 to 100 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.

See every crop timed for The Bronx →

Growing florence fennel in The Bronx

When should I plant florence fennel in The Bronx?

Aim for 29 Apr - 20 May in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 8-29 May - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

When will florence fennel be ready to harvest in The Bronx?

Expect to start picking around 1 Aug - 30 Nov, based on 80 to 100 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.

How much frost will florence fennel tolerate?

Takes about -4C. A cold snap after sowing is itself enough of a check to trigger bolting, which is another argument for the later sowing.