Bronze fennel is grown for its ornamental, feathery bronze-purple foliage as much as for its flavour. The leaves have a sweet aniseed taste that goes well with fish, salads and egg dishes, and the seeds can be dried for cooking or tea. It does not form a bulb. The yellow flower heads attract hoverflies, lacewings and bees.
Growing guide for South Africa
- When to sow: spring (September to November) and autumn (March to April) in mild areas. In frost areas, sow in spring.
- How to sow: sow directly about 5 mm deep, because fennel has a taproot and does not like being transplanted.
- Germination: 7 to 14 days at 15 to 21 degrees C.
- Spacing: thin to 25 to 30 cm apart. Plants reach 1 to 1.8 m, so place them at the back of beds.
- Position: full sun and well-drained soil. Fairly drought tolerant once established.
- Harvest: pick young leaves from about 60 to 90 days after sowing and collect seed heads when they turn brown in late summer.
- Care: keep it away from dill, because they can cross-pollinate, and cut off flower heads before they seed if you do not want it to spread. It is a short-lived perennial that often self-seeds.
Quick facts: Packet: heirloom seed. Height 1 to 1.8 m. Perennial, often grown as an annual. Sowing times are a guide: adjust for your local frost dates and climate.
Photo: Martinevans123, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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