Plant Guide

Description:

An outstanding variety grown for its airy, ferny fragrant foliage and delicious white bulbs; sweet, anise flavored foliage and bulbs, a lovely addition to salads, roasts or coleslaws; a standout in borders, containers and gardens

Edible Qualities

Licorice Towers Fennel is an annual vegetable plant that is commonly grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. The entire above-ground parts of the plant are edible, and are usually harvested from early summer to early fall. The edible parts have a savory taste and a crunchy texture.

The plant is most often used in the following ways:

• Cooking
• Seasoning

Planting & Growing

Licorice Towers Fennel will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 9 inches. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 6 inches apart. This fast-growing vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop.

This plant is quite ornamental as well as edible, and is as much at home in a landscape or flower garden as it is in a designated vegetable garden. It does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Licorice Towers Fennel is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.