
Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce 'di Firenze'
Apiaceae
Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce 'di Firenze', Florence Fennel
Family: Apiaceae
Genus: Foeniculum
Florence Fennel is the bulb type of fennel that is eaten as a vegetable, The crunchy, swollen stems have a sweet aniseed flavour. The feathery leaves and seeds are both edible and are used in many culinary dishes.
• Hardiness: H5 (-10 to -15C)
• Type: Perennial
• Height: up to 1.8m
• Spread: up to 1.5m
Florence Fennel is available to buy online as herb seeds.
• Soil type: Light Loam
• pH: Neutral pH
• Habit: Upright
• Flowering colour:
• Flowering time:
• Uses: Culinary (Read Jekka's Guide To Culinary Herbs for more information)
• Attracts pollinators: No
• Container suitability: No
• UK native: No
• Caution: N/A
• Indoor Sowing: In spring, in prepared plug trays or pots. The roots hate being disturbed so plant out as soon as the roots fill the container. Plant out 30 cm apart.
• Outdoor Sowing: In mid spring sow directly into the soil, 15mm deep in rows 30cm apart, thin to 30cm apart. Earth up, mound the soil around the bulbs, as they start to swell from mid-summer until mid-autumn. This will blanch the bulbs and protect from early frosts.
• Propagation: N/A
• Maintenance: (Read Jekka's Blogs on Early Spring, Late Spring and Autumn maintenance)
• Harvest: N/A
For information on growing herbs from seeds please see Jekka's blogs on sowing seeds, sowing your winter culinary herbs or how to grow vegetables.
Jekka's "How to Grow Herbs" videos, includes Jekka's video on how to sow seeds for an informative step-by-step guide to seed sowing.
Growing indoors? Check out Jekka's blog on indoor herb gardening for some advice.
If you require pots or compost, see Jekka's Herb Kits that includes Jekka's Seed Sowing Kit. This kit contains all you need to sow a collection of herb seeds.
For more information on growing herbs plants please see Jekkapedia, Jekka's blog or our FAQs page.
Happy Herbs!
One of our three core roots is that we are Environmentally Conscious and for the past 30 years all the herbs grown at Jekka’s have been raised following sustainable, environmentally friendly and organic approaches resulting in a remarkable biodiversity at the herb farm.
Our herb seeds are also untreated and can be used to grow organic herb plants.
You can read more about our sustainability approach to growing herbs in one of Jekka's Blogs or in Jekka's Guide to Climate Change.