Fennel · Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru
When to plant fennel in Arequipa
Main outdoor window
5-26 Aug
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
19 August
In Arequipa, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
29 Nov - 30 Apr
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 Arequipa
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
5-26 Aug
Two weeks before your last frost.
Harvest
29 Nov - 30 Apr
Fennel through the year
Against the frost risk in Arequipa
Why these dates
Sow direct around the last frost. Keep well away from dill - the two cross readily and the resulting seedlings taste of neither.
The crown is hardy to about -12C and regrows each spring from the root.
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. Fennel are timed for direct sowing 2 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Arequipa.
Arequipa sits in zone 10a, which is milder than this crop wants, and a winter that never really arrives is its own problem. The dates below still describe the right time of year; the open question is survival rather than timing.
Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 1, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.
Growing fennel in Arequipa
When should I plant fennel in Arequipa?
Aim for 5-26 Aug in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 26 Aug - 16 Sep - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will fennel be ready to harvest in Arequipa?
Expect to start picking around 29 Nov - 30 Apr, based on 90 to 120 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will fennel tolerate?
The crown is hardy to about -12C and regrows each spring from the root.