Bronze Fennel

By Kathy Jentz

Bronze Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is an ornamental perennial herb whose ferny, soft foliage and brightyellow flowers make it a favorite background plant for many gardeners.

Its wispy, tall stems look great in combination with other plants such as rose bushes. The cultivar ‘Purpureum’ is especially attractive with a darker, smokyplum coloring to its foliage.

Plant it in full sun and it will grow to up to 6 feet high. It does not need staking or fertilizing. It is hardy to USDA Zones 5 to 9 and is native to the Mediterranean and southwest Asia.

It is not the kind of fennel that produces a large edible bulb at its base. Instead, it looks and grows more similarly to dill or anise.

Bronze Fennel is also a great addition to the pollinator garden. The flowers attract many kinds of bees and hoverflies. It is also a host plant that supports the Black Swallowtail butterfly’s caterpillars.

You can collect the fragrant fresh leaves to use in fish dishes and the dried seeds in a variety of savory or sweet recipes.

Bronze Fennel is deer-resistant and it has no serious diseases issues.

It will self-seed around, if you let it, but it is easy to pull and transplant when it is at the seedling stage to another place in your garden. o