PlantSowGrow
How to grow Florence Fennel (Finale)
Foeniculum vulgare var. azoricum
🥕 Vegetable
🌱 Grown each year
Crunchy, aniseed-flavoured bulbs for roasting and salads. Sow after midsummer to avoid bolting.
At a glance: Sow mid May to late June, harvest from late July.
When to sow, plant and harvest
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Sow outdoors
Harvest
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Florence Fennel (Finale): what it needs
- Light
- Full sun · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water regularly in dry weather
- Soil
- Fertile, well-drained soil
- Spacing
- 30 cm
- In pots
- Grows well in containers
- Feeding
- A general feed before sowing or planting
- Harvest
- About 80 days from sowing
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 3–9
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Step by step
- Mid May – late June · 4 weeks after the last spring frost
Sow Seeds Outdoors
Sow thinly in drills where they are to grow. Sow direct; it bolts if transplanted.
- 10–14 days after “Sow Seeds Outdoors” · Late May
Check Germination
Seedlings should appear in 10–14 days. If sown outdoors, thin to 30 cm apart when big enough to handle.
- 30–45 days after “Check Germination” · Late June – early July
Earth Up Bulbs
Draw soil up around the swelling bulbs to keep them sweet and white.
- 66–87 days after “Check Germination” · Late July – mid August
Start Harvesting
Cut bulbs when they are tennis-ball size, leaving the stump to resprout.
- 30–60 days after “Start Harvesting” · Late August – late September
Finish and Clear
Clear the remains to the compost heap once cropping ends.
