I planted Finocchio fennel last year, and that was my first experience with growing it. First off, it took a really long time to germinate. I did direct sow, per the instructions, but mine didn't go in until the end of May I want to say. I planted four seeds (I do SFG) I had 50% germination, and then one of the sprouts just died off for some reason. So I had one fennel bulb that grew, but once it started growing, boy did it take off!

It grew and grew and grew, I used it as an herb from time to time and would just snip off a piece of stalk and some fronds, all told it ended up at least 3 feet tall. I think I waited too long to harvest the bulb, because it was a little tough, but it sure was flavorful! One thing that really surprised me though was the taproot. WOW! It's massive and goes very deep. If I had one bit of advice it would be to make sure that your soil is nice and loose to give that root room to grow.

I'm not growing it this year, simply because I have limited room and other things I want to try, but I would definitely grow it again. I also read that you can start it in cool weather and then it would resist bolting later on... I don't know, mine took several weeks to germinate in full sun. I guess the worst that could happen is you try a few seeds and see if they do anything. If not, sow again when it is warmer out. A quick Google search for ideal temps led me to 77F being the ideal temp for fennel germination.