Looking for Type of Dill
Answered by: Conrad Richter
Question from: Frankie Lassman
Posted on: October 05, 2006

I live in Victoria, Texas....zone 9. About 10 years ago I bought a wonderful dill plant. It will grow about 6-7 ft tall, straight up. However, we keep it cut back, to about 3 ft. from the ground. I have never let it seed. About 6 months ago my husband cut it back, but this time he cut it back to about 8 inches from the ground. We thought he killed it. It is very woody and only about 1/4 of the plant is growing. I am so afraid I will lose this plant. It is wonderful to cook with... gives a soft dill flavor to potato salad, dips, sauces for fish etc. This dill is bright, grass green with long feathery stalks with feathery leaves. Has a "fresh clean" smell. I have looked, looked and looked for another plant like this. All the dill plants I find in the nurseries are dark green, grow about 18 in. with a strong smell. Someone said the dills I see in the local nurseries are Italian. Could you help me find another plant like this and do you know the name?

I have never heard of Italian dill. However I have noticed that dill and fennel is frequently mixed up in the vegetable produce industry, so I wouldn’t be surprised that what you are looking for is a variety of fennel (which also fits the "Italian" connection because florence fennel is a popular vegetable in Italy).

We carry several varieties of dill and fennel. You may well wish to try all of them to see if any of them are what you are looking for.

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