Smokey Bronze Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare. This self-sowing tender perennial Fennel, flaunting 3’- to 5’-tall clouds of thready purple-bronze foliage, is beautiful and delicious. Its sweet and fresh, anise flavor is wonderful in myriad recipes and its seeds make a tasty tea that soothes upset tummies. Bees and other beneficial insects flock to its umbels of lacy yellow flowers, and it is the larval host for several swallowtail butterflies. This all-purpose herb is a must-grow in both purely ornamental and culinary herb gardens. To harvest Fennel seeds, enclose mature brown seed heads in a paper bag and cut with scissors. Dry and store in a glass jar. Its seed rampantly self-sows (it blends wonderfully wherever it lands in the garden but is easy to pull if unwanted) and Fennel is #1 with good garden bugs. Fennel can be raised as transplants sown indoors 6 to 8 weeks prior to setting out after the last spring frost date, or direct-sown in mid-spring. Bee friendly. Perennial. Hardiness zones: 5-9. Height: 30" to 36". (OP.)
Average seed life: 1 year.
One packet of about 100 seeds
- Buy 10 for $4.45 each and save 10%
- Buy 50 for $3.70 each and save 25%