Anise Seeds

Useful gardening information

You can grow anise for its culinary uses in cooking, baking, and liquors, its historical medicinal properties for aiding digestion and freshening breath, its attractive fragrance and appearance in a garden, and its value in attracting beneficial pollinators like bees and butterflies. Anise is also a relatively easy-to-grow annual or perennial herb that can thrive in containers and has a pleasant, licorice-like aroma that can be enjoyed on a patio or porch.

Anise is a low spreading bright green bushy plant that grows 12 to 24 inches tall and almost as wide. Anise flowers in midsummer, small yellowish-white flowers in umbrella shaped clusters.

Anise is warm-season annual herb. Sow anise in the garden as early as 2 weeks after the average last frost date in spring. Anise requires a long, frost-free growing season of about 120 days.

Plant anise in full sun. Anise grows best in well-drained soil rich in organic matter. Anise will grow in poor soil. It prefers a soil pH of 6.0 to 6.7.

Sow anise seeds 1/4 inch deep; when seedlings are 6 weeks old thin to 12 inches apart. Space rows 18 to 24 inches apart.

Sow anise in the garden as early as 2 weeks after the average last frost date in spring. Anise requires a long, frost-free growing season of about 120 days.

Keep anise regularly and evenly watered through out the growing season and particularly just before harvest. Anise requires no special feeding; side dress plants with age compost at midseason.

Companion plants. Cabbage, grapes; avoid planting with carrots, radishes.

Harvest. Snip anise leaves for fresh use as needed. Seeds require more than 100 frost-free days to reach harvest. Collect seed heads while they are still green. Hang them in a warm, dry place to dry; thresh when dry or pasteurize them in an oven at 100°F for 15 minutes. Complete the harvest before the first frost in fall.

Storing and preserving. Dried anise seeds can be stored for several months in an airtight container.

HR310 Anise ( Pimpinella anisum )

Anise is an easy to grow annual plant growing about 1-3 feet tall depending on soil and growing conditions. Plant seeds after all danger of frost has passed.
Plant anise herb seeds in a nice sunny spot in soil that has adequate drainage.
Anise seeds produce a pungent flavored herb that resembles fennel and licorice, and it is used for both medicinal and culinary purposes.
In antiquity, anise was used to treat insomnia. Today, this sweet-smelling herb is commonly found in Indian, and other Asian, cuisine. Leaves and seeds used to flavor licorice. Delicious in salads. Seeds often used in applesauce, cakes, breads, soups and stews.

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