It's not fennel.
Your plant has loads of flower buds, and will have tiny flowers, very soon. Puts me in mind of an Artemisia, perhaps Artemisia annua, not one that I'm familiar with, admittedly.
I agree looks like sweet annie (Artemisis annua)
I grow it here and it is just starting to bloom , if you can call it a bloom (extremely insignificant flower )
Thank you Lin, Lori, Cinda. The buds are the size of pinheads. Letting the only 2 I have go to seed. Preserved some last year for my dau-in-law. Dries beautifully.
My sweet annie has a distinctive smell , I am not sure apples . I recognize the smell as sweet annie because I grew up with the plant , my grandmother grew it . she used it to keep bugs away. She would rub it on her ankles to keep chiggers off. We don't have chiggers here so I don't know if it works or not
I have grown Sweet Anne for years. One of the unique features of this plant is it will dry to a dark brown but the fragrance will last for two or three years. I've made wreaths with it and people can't believe how great the fragrance is. One draw back, it will spread seeds everywhere they are very tiny and the wind in the fall spreads them around. Make sure it is where you want it because it is easy to pull up in the spring if is growing where you don't want it but I am still pulling up seedlings that are starting to grow now in Sept. I love this plant.
I dried mine with glycerin/water mix, it is still dk. green. Oh, checked the smell again it now is more medicinal instead of apples.
Evidently the chickens keep mine under control.
