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Bronze Fennel question
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Posted by mary_littlerockar 7b Central Arkansas (My Page) on Thu, Nov 19, 09 at 10:36
| I purchased two little potted B. Fennel plants from a local nursery.
Each plant has only one thick stalk. Will there always be only 1 stalk per plant or will it actually increase the number of stalks arising from the ground as it matures?
I plan to grow them in big outdoor pots for host plants for the butterflies. Just wondering if I should plant both little plants in one big pot?
Mary
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Bronze Fennel question
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| Planted in the ground, it can get to be a sizable plant. No experience with it as a container plant. FataMorgana |
RE: Bronze Fennel question
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| When planted in the ground, does it have more than one stalk per plant? I've never met a growing Fennel, only seen photos and they usually don't show the base of the plant. The plants I bought have one round stalk coming out of the soil and it looks like a little palm tree trunk where it comes out of the soil. Of course, the top looks like the wispy growth I see in the photos of Fennel. Will more little palm tree looking shoots come up out of the soil if I plant it in the ground? My thanks for your help. Mary |
RE: Bronze Fennel question
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| Fennel with a swallowtail cat from my garden. See the various fennel stalks from one plant.... 
FataMorgana |
RE: Bronze Fennel question
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| Fennel grows a long taproot so it is probably not an ideal container choice. Also if you want to attract butterflies and you are successful the caterpillars may well leave your plants looking pretty scruffy so you may not really want them as feature plants. In the ground fennel will grow into a tall (up to 6ft) multi-stemmed perennial clump and will also seed around. The stems and seed heads dry off in winter and it will throw up fresh growth from the ground in spring. The link shows bronze fennel in early growth. It gets taller and greener later in the season. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Bronze fennel
RE: Bronze Fennel question
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| OK, if it's not a good candidate for a big pot, I'll have to try and find a sunny spot for it. My gardens are small and I'm planting mainly for the butterflies and hummingbirds so a scruffy looking plant doesn't bother me. I just don't have too many really sunny spots for in ground planting. Will have to try and work it in someplace if that is what is recommended. They are currently in 1 gal pots (I transplanted them from their 4 inch pots after I bought them mid summer) in the greenhouse as I worried there wouldn't be enough time for them to establish roots before winter. Also wanted something already growing for the early spring butterflies. Maybe I'd better plan to winter sow some fennel seed, too, for growing out next year. My thanks for all the helpful information and photos. Mary |
RE: Bronze Fennel question
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| Hi, Mary! I grow 2 varieties of fennel, Foeniculum vulgare var. purpurescens or Bronze Fennel, and Foeniculum vulgare var. azoricum or Bulb fennel. I don't harvest the bulb fennel. though, and it grows as a short-lived perennial for me in Oklahoma City, zone 7a (4 to 5 years). I like it because it is much fuller than the Bronze. I did grow Bronze Fennel in a very deep pot one year and it did fine for a couple years and did not come back the 3rd year. It grows easily from seed, too. For my Black Swallowtails I also grow Rue and Zizia aptera because the caterpillars are voracious and consume the fennel plants first. After that, they lay eggs on the Rue and the Zizia. Your plants will produce much more basal growth, and will also produce branches off the existing stems as well. Word of warning - wasps will patrol your fennel looking for baby cats. I have seen many carry off a larger caterpillar as well. The only way to avoid that is to hand raise the caterpillars. I have so many babies that I am forced at some point to leave them on the plant...sigh. Have fun! Susan |
Here is a link that might be useful: Growing Fennel
RE: Bronze Fennel question
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| Hi Susan, Thank you for sharing your helpful information regarding the growing of fennel. The link was very informative. I was raised in OKC and know first hand that you tend to gererally have colder and harsher winters than Little Rock AR. If I could get fennel to grow well in a pot even through one or two seasons here, that would be OK, given my shortage of sunny growing spots. I had planned to grow it in a big 20-24 inch pot. My worry was it wouldn't grow at all and I didn't want to find out too late to miss having adequate food on hand for the butterfly babies. My plan is to grow host plants of fennel, dill and parsley for the BST butterflies this coming spring. Last summer was my first time for fostering butterfly cats. I loved the experience. I did hand raise them inside because we have wasps around our area and I learned from more experienced gardeners that they would harm the little cats. I want to be better prepared with more host and nectar plants next spring. My thanks once again for sharing your helpful information. Mary |
RE: Bronze Fennel question
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| Mary, you are very welcome, and I invite you to visit the Butterfy Gardening forum as well. Folks are great with information about raising butterflies, but with growing host and nectar plants, too. A lot of butterfly and nectar plants are, if not culinary herbs, medicinal herbs, and butterflies use a lot of herbs as either nectar, but host plants as well. Fennel can grow in partial shade. Both of mine do well in my partial shade garden. In fact, our harsh summers almost require part shade exposure to do well. Congrats on your foray into raising Black Swallowtails! That is how I started out. I grew into raising other leps like sphinx moths, Giant Swallowtails, Red Admirals, Pipevine Swallowtails, Buckeyes, Cloudless Sulphurs, Sleepy Oranges, Hackberry and Tawny Emperors, and many more. It is so rewarding. Anyway, have fun and keep up the good work! Susan |
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