One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

It's a good idea to determine when to plant anise by looking at the USDA zone info for South Boston.

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 a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant anise in South Boston 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 fully mature. If you are starting your anise indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in South Boston. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for South Boston may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in South Boston there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your anise in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for South Boston

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 South Boston

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