Skip to content
BeetfoxDeutsch

How to grow florence fennel

Frost-tender · Carrot family

When to sow and plant

  • Start indoors 8–22 March

Based on: average for Germany, last frost 19 April, safe from 6 May

Planting calendar for your area
Where the dates come from

The weeks come from our sources; the dates use the average frost in Germany. Enter a German postcode to get dates for your area.

  • Start indoors: 4–6 weeks before the last frost (USU Extension: Fennel in the Garden)

Good and bad neighbours

Gardeners’ lore, not proven · 3

  • CucumberLore: good· D

    Traditional advice, not tested.

    D: Tradition, named by at least two sources

    Cucumber

  • TomatoLore: bad· D

    Traditionally seen as bad neighbours; no proven reason.

    D: Tradition, named by at least two sources

    Tomato

  • Bush bean, Pole beanLore: bad· D

    Traditionally seen as bad neighbours; no proven reason.

    D: Tradition, named by at least two sources

    Bush beanPole bean

Crop rotation

After the carrot family, leave the bed free of it for at least 4 years (sources: 4–5 years).

  • The same species should go back to the same spot after a break of 3 years at the earliest.
  • Example: grown here in 2026, again from 2031.
  • Heavy feeders two years in a row on the same bed are not a mistake, but they take more out of the soil.

At a glance

Family
Carrot family (Apiaceae)
Nutrient needs
Heavy feeder
Frost
Tender to frost
Spacing (row × plant)
30 × 30 cm (12 × 12 in)
Plants per m²
11.1
Life cycle
Annual
Harvest
After 60–90 days

Spacing according to RHS Grow your own: Florence fennel. Other sources: 46 × 20–30 cm (18 × 8–12 in) (USU Extension: Fennel in the Garden).

Questions and answers

How far apart should I plant florence fennel?

30 × 30 cm (12 × 12 in) (row × plant), according to RHS Grow your own: Florence fennel.

What grows well next to florence fennel?

Cucumber: Gardeners’ lore, not proven (D), Tomato: Gardeners’ lore, not proven (D) and Bush bean, Pole bean: Gardeners’ lore, not proven (D).

How long a break do florence fennel need in the same bed?

After the carrot family, leave the bed free of it for at least 4 years (sources: 4–5 years). The same species should go back to the same spot after a break of 3 years at the earliest.

More from the carrot family

Sources

Show 8 sources
  1. Südtiroler Bauernbund: Merkblatt Fruchtfolgen im Gemüsebau (Oktober 2022)
  2. Cornell Home Gardening: Growing Guide Fennel
  3. USU Extension: Fennel in the Garden
  4. RHS Grow your own: Florence fennel
  5. Landwirtschaftskammer Schleswig-Holstein: Fruchtfolge im Garten (Gartenmerkblatt, 2020)
  6. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (über die GBIF-API, species/match)
  7. BUND: Mischkultur – Gute und schlechte Nachbarn (August 2026)
  8. Gartenakademie Rheinland-Pfalz (DLR): Übersicht – Kultur verschiedener Gemüsearten im Hausgarten (o. J.)

Retrieved on 23 October 2026. Facts in our own words, one source per value.