Fennel · Ludhiana, Punjab, India
When to plant fennel in Ludhiana
Main outdoor window
25 Dec - 15 Jan
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
8 January
In Ludhiana, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 Jun - 31 Oct
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 Ludhiana
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
25 Dec - 15 Jan
Two weeks before your last frost.
Harvest
1 Jun - 31 Oct
Fennel through the year
Against the frost risk in Ludhiana
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 Ludhiana.
Ludhiana sits in zone 10b, 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 Ludhiana
When should I plant fennel in Ludhiana?
Aim for 25 Dec - 15 Jan in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 9-30 Jan - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will fennel be ready to harvest in Ludhiana?
Expect to start picking around 1 Jun - 31 Oct, 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.