Topic: Bronze leaved fennel

[woodypecks]

I have a one year old Bronze Leave Fennel .....so its a small plant  .....but it has put up two very tall shoots which have flowers at the top  ( about five feet tall )....which is lovely but , I want more of those lovely leaves . Have I left it too late to cut the flower shoots off ? Will the plant die , now its flowered ?  Debs

[Deb P]

Hack away, my plants are as tough as old boots and don't mind pruning, they come back every year so far.

[squeezyjohn]

If it's a standard fennel - (not a bulbing variety) - then it will try to flower right through to the end of the summer even if you keep cutting the stems back.  My fennel seems to be absolutely un-killable no matter how much I hack at it - but if yours is small I don't think that cutting the flower heads back will damage it ... normally you get some new feathery growth around the base of the flower stalks.

You could consider keeping the flowers though and let them run to seed.  Fennel seeds are a lovely spice you can store for ages.

[woodypecks]

Good idea about the seeds and there may well be some on it already . I,m going to cut it down . Thankyou both for your thoughts on this . Debbie