The illustrated growing guide
Anise
Pimpinella anisum
Family Apiaceae
Grown as an annual
Grow your own true aniseed — the sweet, licorice-scented seed behind biscotti, pizzelle, ouzo, and soothing after-dinner tea. It's a long-season annual: direct-sow after frost (it hates being moved), let the lacy, beneficial-insect-feeding flowers set seed, and harvest the heads when they turn brown. The feathery young leaves are good in salads, too.
Full Sun
Moderate water
Moderate growth
Attracts bees
None winter chillI
Overview
Will anise suit your garden, and what goes wrong.
Will it fruit where you are?
Enter your ZIP — we look up your USDA hardiness zone (2023 map) and check it against what anise actually needs.
Life cycleAnnualAnise at a glance
Common anise problems
- Almost none
- Almost none
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Growing
Light, water, soil, propagation and the season’s jobs.
How to grow anise: light, water & soil
How to plant & propagate anise
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The year
What anise asks for, month by month.
The anise year, month by month
BloomWhat each band means
- Bloom — flowers open — pollinators working, frost on blossoms is the danger.
The anise year as text
- Jan quiet month
- Feb quiet month
- Mar quiet month
- Apr quiet month
- May quiet month
- Jun quiet month
- Jul bloom
- Aug quiet month
- Sep quiet month
- Oct quiet month
- Nov quiet month
- Dec quiet month
These are the species' typical months — expect them a few weeks earlier in warm zones and later in cold ones. Watch the plant, not just the calendar.
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Ecology & uses
What it does for the garden, and what it is grown for.
Anise in the garden system
- Herbaceous layer annual
- Nectary/insectary
What anise is grown for
✓ Commonly eatenSafe (culinary); a traditional digestive
Harvesting & storing anise
Feathery leaves for salads; the SEEDS are true aniseed — for baking, liqueurs, and digestive tea. About 100-120 days (seed) from planting.
Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.
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Cultivars
Named varieties of anise, ruled as a catalogue.
Best anise varieties & cultivars
Species
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Sources & plant ID
Where the care distinctions come from, and how the plant is filed.
Research basis
Sources behind this profile
No extension citations are attached to aniseyet. The care figures below come from the library's own catalogue rather than a traced primary source.
Plant ID
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Where to buy
Third-party nurseries — not Story Thyme Farms.
Third-party nurseries, not Story Thyme Farms. Prices are theirs.
Story Thyme Farms may earn a small commission from these links, at no cost to you — it never changes what we recommend.
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Questions
Anise questions, answered straight.
Is anise safe for kids and pets?
Anise is commonly eaten and isn't considered toxic, but "commonly eaten" isn't a guarantee for any particular person or animal — allergies, quantity, and which part you eat all matter. One caveat on this one: culinary); a traditional digestive. Never eat a plant you haven't positively identified, and check with a vet before letting pets or livestock graze anything new.
When do you harvest anise?
Feathery leaves for salads; the SEEDS are true aniseed — for baking, liqueurs, and digestive tea. From planting, expect about 100-120 days (seed) to maturity.
How do you propagate anise?
From seed.
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Elsewhere
Where anise sits in the library.
Comfrey
Lavender
Rosemary
Anise Hyssop