Good tip gardengus. I am going to plant both; I would rather have the butterflies then cooking dill any day, dislike the stuff.

I have never heard that...though I had not grown fennel, so the dill was always ok. Great tip!

I like dill.. but not fennel ... good to know though.. thanks!!!

I planted some fennel plants just recently. The fennel I'd had before died last year because of severe heat and drought. Dill doesn't do well here. We have enough host plants if the Black Swallowtails come this year.

Usually I plant just curly parsley for the Black Swallowtail Butterfly Cats, but one year I planted both parsley and dill for them.

So what is hybrid dill fennel called?

dinnel

Or perhaps "yuk".....

I was glad to know both pieces of information in your tip.
If I do grow both, I'll pull the volunteer dill-lings and plant fresh from a packet each year.

Interesting. I love both but never get dill seedlings so no worry.. Maybe dinnel will be the next ingredient on those cooking shows.

Just have dill. Planted it several years ago and it bolted. Now I am pulling dill out of my daylily bed and the lawn!

I wonder if the neighbors dill will find it's way to my yard, I noticed last year that she had a lot of the stuff and it went to seed!!

Oh dear, I hope the wind doesn't blow your way! I had only one plant and the seed went everywhere

Yikes!!! It usually blows in my direction, I get tons of a very nasty little daisy from her place.

daisies beat thistles anyday


just in from weeding ''ouch''

What is the separation distance to keep them from crossing with each other?
I am wondering if one was sown at one end of the yard, and the other at the other end--
would they still be crossed?

My guess the distance would probably depend on the pollinators.
The plants I grow are only separated by about 12-15 feet , because they are both in the herb bed.
I would guess if one was diligent enough to dead head the fennel before it blooms you should have good dill seed.
The caterpillars only eat the stems and leaves so it shouldn't effect them in any way to remove the flowers.

I've seen the caterpillars eat the fennel flowers, but they're perfectly happy with the rest of the plant. And once all the dill goes to seed, the fennel could be allowed to flower again if it wanted to. I don't grow dill here...it doesn't seem to like our heat. But there's a wild form of dill I've seen that grows here...even spotted caterpillars on it on rare occasion.