A Fennel planted last summer has experienced a lot of growth and has grown from about 20'' to over 5 foot. I am concerned though,regarding the very faded appearance of the leaves on the lower half?
When the seeds ripen, you can gather them and sow them thickly in shallow trays of compost on a sunny window sill. Cut the seedlings with scissors when they are about 2" long, they make a tasty sandwich filling, like mustard and cress.
The foliage will die off in the autumn, and new growth will come from the base of the plant in spring. So you need to cut down the dead stalks each year otherwise you will end up with a thicket of them.
I have just harvested my fennel. It grew to about 6 foot, with flowers. When I dug it up today, it had zero roots ! The branches are thick (and inedible). What have I done wrong? I had to plant it in a pot because the ones I planted in the soil got EATEN (not by me).
I take it that you were growing Florence fennel and not one of the herb varieties? 😊
Fennel is quite demanding in its requirements and these are even more difficult to meet in containers ... it needs consistently damp soil ... if it dries out at all it will bolt and run to flower and seed rather than produce a lovely swollen base to the stems. It sounds as if this is what has happened to yours. 😢
“I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh
@jeannie206 - bulb fennel - aka Florence fennel - for eating as a vegetable is not a root vegetable. The edible, swollen, bulbous part sits above the ground and is white. It is topped by thick stalks with fine green fronds which can get quite high. Best harvested when tennis ball size.
Herb fennel doesn't produce a fat stem at the base and is used as a flavouring, either subtle from teh fronds or more strong from the seeds which are very good with fishy dishes and are used in some curry spice mixes.
Both versions are good hosts for swallow-tailed butterfly caterpillars which do no harm to the eating qualities of the plants.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast. "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
This has made me think of growing it. I've grown bronze fennel in the past - and I love it as a decorative plant, but I quite fancy growing the bulb/veg one if I can find a space somewhere. Our conditions should suit it too.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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The foliage will die off in the autumn, and new growth will come from the base of the plant in spring. So you need to cut down the dead stalks each year otherwise you will end up with a thicket of them.
Fennel is quite demanding in its requirements and these are even more difficult to meet in containers ... it needs consistently damp soil ... if it dries out at all it will bolt and run to flower and seed rather than produce a lovely swollen base to the stems. It sounds as if this is what has happened to yours. 😢
Herb fennel doesn't produce a fat stem at the base and is used as a flavouring, either subtle from teh fronds or more strong from the seeds which are very good with fishy dishes and are used in some curry spice mixes.
Both versions are good hosts for swallow-tailed butterfly caterpillars which do no harm to the eating qualities of the plants.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...