One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for El Centro you should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant anise.

Planting Calendar for Anise

Frost tolerance for anise:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant anise just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant anise in El Centro is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant anise and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your anise may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your anise indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in El Centro. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for El Centro and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in El Centro there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to protect your anise if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Centro

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in El Centro

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Centro.