Topic: Bronze Fennel

[Palustris]

This could go in Edible plants 'cos it is or Pests and Diseases, cos it is. This rotten stuff has self seeded all over the place and as it is one of those plants which sends down a tap root long before it gets any leaves, so by the time you see it, there is an antipodean person pulling on the other end, the question is Are the roots persistent as dandelions or dock are. I cannot use weedkiller in this place as there are still leafed Camassia's and other things. All I can do in most places is to pull out as much root as possible, but do they regrow from the residue? Anyone ever tried to get rid of it?

[Ceratonia]

Definitely regrows from the roots - have cut foliage for the guinea pigs to eat and given up trying to remove the roots and have seen it grow back pretty fast.

It's biennial though, so you'd hope that if you chop it down enough to stop it setting seed, the problem would go away eventually.

[Palustris]

Ta, bring the guinea pig up with you then, save me having to bother chopping off the tops then!

[Mrs Ava]

Hmmm, I have it on the allotment, and altho it looks great, I don't use it in cooking and it has seeded far and wide!  I keep hacking it back and bunging it on the compost heap so it is doing a good deed.  Come autumn, I shall be digging the lot up and not bothering again!

[jennym]

... This rotten stuff has self seeded all over the place ... Anyone ever tried to get rid of it?

Sowed it in year 2001 - think I got it out of the allotment this year...fingers crossed.

[saddad]

Don't rely on it! I have a similar problem with Nigella, over ten years since we sowed any....
 8)