I think you should try that bulb fennel, Dixana. It grew fine for me.
No, I'd seen those stories about Florence fennel in soup. I like licorice/anise flavor but just couldn't imagine liking it in soup

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DD was here a few days ago and brought this tiny pizza to put in the toaster oven for her lunch. She said that she'd share with me and I told her that she didn't have to - it was a real small pizza.
She said, "Well, only 1 piece." It seemed quite
oddly seasoned - star anise and fennel seeds . . ! Yeah, I ended up with 3 of the 4 slices. DD's enthusiasm for her pizza went out the window with her 1st bite. I liked the artichoke hearts & mushrooms

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Different tastes - different people. Maybe if I had it prepared in different ways, there would be some fennel foods that would be irresistible to me also. Hyper-palatable, as David Kessler would say! I mean, the candy I'm the most likely to buy is Panda Licorice, just wouldn't put it in a soup!
Steve