Bronze Fennel
Foeniculum Vulgare

days to maturity: 50 days
plant spacing: 4 plants per square foot
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours
look out for: aphids
harvest notes: harvest whole plant cut and come again, or fronds as needed at any age
seasons: fall, winter, spring, summer
annual

A highly aromatic annual herb, bronze fennel is widely cultivated for its edible, licorice-flavored leaves and seeds. Bronze Fennel has dark, smoky foliage that’s very attractive in perennial borders or annual containers, where it adds a soft, airy, somewhat mysterious bronze, grey to purple look. Certain swallowtail butterflies like fennel as a food source for their caterpillars, who won’t eat much and are fun to watch as they grow. We grow this beautiful herb through the season at our farm for local chefs who use its tender fronds for both flavor and garnish. Fronds can be harvested at any age, and if they’re large they are most often pulled apart for use in the kitchen as garnish or flavoring element. NOTE: if you’re looking for fennel, the bulbing vegetable, this is not it! We sell that too, but it’s not an herb, check our veggie section for green fennel bulb plants.