The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant anise is to check out the USDA zone info for Ottawa.

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 are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant anise in Ottawa 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. Any later than that and your anise may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your anise indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ottawa. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ottawa may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Ottawa it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your anise in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ottawa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Ottawa

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