Fennel Sweet Florence Seeds

Grow Fennel Sweet Florence for crisp white swollen leaf bases, fresh green fronds and a mild anise-and-celery flavour for salads and cooked dishes.

Ready to grow firm Florence fennel bases at home? Follow our step-by-step Fennel Grow Guide for Sweet Florence for direct sowing, transplant care, bolting prevention, regional timing and harvest advice.

Quick Grow Facts

• Plant Type: Florence or bulb fennel grown for swollen above-ground leaf bases
• Scientific Name: Foeniculum vulgare ‘Sweet Florence’ (Florence/Azoricum bulb-fennel group)
• Named Type: Sweet Florence; no breeder, hybrid or open-pollinated claim is declared
• Seed Form: Raw, unpelleted seed
• Pack Sizes: 5 g and 40 g raw seed; live availability varies
• General Sowing Time: Spring / Summer on the stocked packet; choose the cooler, steadier part of your local season
• Position: Full sun in fertile, moisture-retentive but freely drained soil
• Sow Depth and Light: Cover 0.5 cm; light is not required for germination
• Germination: 7–14 days on the stocked packet; aim for about 15–24°C and allow up to 21 days in cool conditions
• Pretreatment: None required; sow dry seed
• Method: Direct sow preferred; use one seedling per deep cell if transplanting
• Spacing: 25 cm on the packet, with rows about 30–45 cm apart; 10–15 cm only for intentional mini vegetables
• Growth Form: Upright green foliage above a compact white swollen leaf base; no support or pinching needed before harvest
• Harvest: 60–90 days on the packet; inspect from day 60 and allow longer in cool or stressed conditions

Why Grow Sweet Florence?

• The firm white base has a crisp texture and mild sweet anise-like flavour.
• Use it thinly sliced or grated raw, or steam, grill, roast or braise it.
• Clean young fronds and stalks can also be used in the kitchen.
• This is the bulb-style fennel in the family; Smokey Bronze will not produce the same crop.

Sowing and Care

• Direct sow 0.5 cm deep where plants will mature, then thin carefully to 25 cm without disturbing the roots you keep.
• If using modules, sow individually and transplant the intact young plug at two to three true leaves after 5–7 days of hardening.
• Keep soil evenly moist, mulch after establishment and avoid heavy nitrogen feeding. Dryness, cold shocks and root disturbance can trigger bolting.
• When the base begins to swell, lightly mound clean soil around it if you want a paler crop, but do not bury the crown.
• Harvest before the centre elongates into a flower stalk; a bolted base can turn woody.

Harvest and Safety

Cut the firm swollen base at soil level when roughly 5–10 cm across, or harvest smaller as a mini vegetable. The “bulb” is a cluster of swollen leaf bases, not a root. Rinse the base, stalks and fronds under clean running water before use; do not use soap or produce wash.

Do not eat the sowing seed. “Raw seed” describes an unpelleted physical form and does not prove that a lot is chemically untreated. Follow the physical lot label and use only locally registered edible-crop controls according to their labels and harvest withholding periods.

Brought to you by Ubuntuberg Seeds, where our mission is to cultivate humanity & harvest unity. Ubuntuberg Seeds: the highest quality seed stock in all of Southern Africa, sourced from sustainable farms, guaranteeing you the best quality seed stock.