One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Rome should be looked at to estimate when it's a good idea 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.

Anise can survive in mild cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The last month that you can plant anise and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your anise may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your anise indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Rome. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Rome is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Rome you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your anise if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rome

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Rome

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rome.