Ferula communis – Giant Fennel –

Description

Ferula – Giant Fennel – There are about 170 species of robust, taprooted, usually hairless aromatic herbaceous perennials, in this genus. They occur in rough, grassy places, dry slopes, and gravelly roadsides from the Mediterranean to Central Asia. They bear branching or simple stems, with 2 to5 pinnate, usually basal, light green leaves, to 32″ long, the ultimate segments are linear to obovate.   Usually forming a mound of finely divided leaves, they are effective foliage plants when mature. Giant fennels bear white, greenish white, yellow or purple flowers in rounded umbels, to 6″ across,, although they may take several years to flower and often die after seeding. Grow at the back of a border or as a specimen plant in a sunny, open site in a wild garde. Grow in fertile, well drained soil in full sun. To enhance foliage, remove flowering stems as soon as they show, or immediately after blooming if seed is not desired. {Protect with a dry mulch in winter. Prone to aphids, slugs, and mildew. F. communis – This tall, robust perennial from the Mediterranean grows 6-15′ feet tall and 2′ feet wide. It produces 3 or 4 pinnate leaves, 10-18″ long, subdivided into narrow, linear segments. After a few years, it bears thick, ridged, branching stems that carry groups of hemispherical, many branched umbels, 3″ across, of small, 5 petalled yellow flowers, in early and mid summer. May die after setting seed. Zones 6-9