The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for South Portland it's possible to estimate 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.

Since anise do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant anise in South Portland 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. If you wait any later than that and 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

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in South Portland. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for South Portland may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in South Portland there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your anise if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South Portland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in South Portland

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Portland.