How to Grow Bronze Fennel
With its feathery foliage and pungent licorice scent, bronze fennel is a great addition to any garden. Plants grow from three to five feet tall, spreading three feet or more and producing tiny yellow flowers in midsummer. The wispy leaves with their anise flavoring are an ideal complement to seafood, egg and vegetable dishes. Bronze fennel is a perennial that likes lots of sun and is easy to grow. You can learn how to cultivate this flavorful ornamental plant in just a few steps. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 3-5 healthy bronze fennel potted plants
- All-purpose plant food or organic fertilizer
- Garden tools, such as cultivator and trowel
- Enough water to soak your newly planted herbs
Instructions
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Go For the Bronze
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1
Purchase healthy plants for a reliable nursery or garden center. Prepare the ground with a cultivator tool, making certain soil is well-drained. As soon as all danger of frost is past, plant bronze fennel two feet apart, adding plant food or fertilizer to the soil according to package directions. Three to four healthy young plants should make a border six to eight feet long.
If you plan to start your own seeds, follow the manufacturer's instructions on the back of the seed packet according to the dates listed in your growing zone.
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Give the plants a good soaking immediately after planting to ensure they root properly. Check regularly and water as necessary. Keep the soil moist but well-drained. Watch for slugs and aphids, as bronze fennel is a favorite snack for both.
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Trim leaves often for use in salads, egg dishes, vegetables or seafood. Use larger fronds for stunning accent foliage in cut flower arrangements.
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Prune aggressively in the fall, deadheading plants before they reseed, otherwise you will need to do lots of thinning out in the spring. Mound up mulch around the base of the plant for added protection during winter months.
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Tips & Warnings
Attract butterflies with bronze fennel. Anise Swallowtails and Easters Swallowtails will lay their eggs on fennel plants and, according to The Herb Society of America, the caterpillars "will feed on the leaves without overtaking and destroying the plant." Bronze fennel also attracts hover flies that will feed voraciously on aphids.
Fennel can be quite invasive. Cut back the plants before they go to seed and separate established and mature plants to keep them from taking over your garden.
