How to Grow Anise: Planting, Care & Harvesting Seed

Anise (Pimpinella anisum) is the original source of that warm, sweet licorice flavor that shows up in everything from biscotti and pizzelle to liqueurs like ouzo and sambuca. A delicate annual in the carrot family, it grows about two feet tall with feathery lower leaves, lacy white flower umbels, and, ultimately, the small ribbed seeds that are the real prize. True anise is a warm-season, long-season herb that needs a sunny, settled spot and patience, because the seeds take a good four months to ripen. Get the timing and the site right, though, and a single short row will perfume your kitchen for a year. Below is everything you need to grow anise and to harvest it for both seed and leaf.

Anise vs. Star Anise vs. Fennel: Clearing Up the Confusion

Before you plant, it helps to know what anise is not. True anise (Pimpinella anisum) is the small annual herb covered in this guide, grown for its seeds. Star anise (Illicium verum) is a completely unrelated evergreen tree from Asia that produces star-shaped pods; it shares a similar flavor compound (anethole) but is a different plant entirely and is not grown the same way. Fennel is another anise-scented relative in the same family, but it forms bulbs and feathery fronds and is grown as a vegetable and herb. Anise hyssop is yet another plant, a perennial in the mint family with anise-scented leaves.

For this guide, when we say anise we mean the annual seed herb Pimpinella anisum. Knowing the difference matters when you buy seed, because catalogs sometimes list several “anise” plants with very different growing needs.

Choosing a Site and Soil

Anise is a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern native that demands warmth and full sun, a minimum of six to eight hours a day. In cool or short-summer climates it may flower late and fail to ripen seed before frost, so in those regions choose your warmest, most sheltered bed or grow it primarily for leaves. The plants are slender and become top-heavy with flower and seed, so a spot protected from strong wind, or one where you can stake or grow them in a supportive block, prevents the stems from sprawling and snapping.

Soil should be light, fertile, and well-drained, with a near-neutral pH of about 6.0 to 7.0. Anise dislikes heavy, soggy clay; if that’s what you have, amend with compost and grit or grow it in a raised bed or large container. Moderately rich soil is ideal. Excessive nitrogen pushes leafy growth at the expense of the flowers and seeds you’re after.

How to Plant Anise

Anise forms a slender taproot and strongly resents transplanting, so the reliable approach is to direct-sow it where it will grow. Wait until all danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed to at least 60°F, as the seed germinates poorly in cold ground. Sow seeds about 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep in rows 18 inches apart, watering the bed and keeping it consistently moist until seedlings appear, which can take two to three weeks; anise is notoriously slow and uneven to germinate, so be patient and don’t let the surface crust over.

Once seedlings are a couple of inches tall, thin them to stand 6 to 9 inches apart. Growing several plants fairly close together is actually helpful, because they support one another and improve pollination of the flower umbels, which in turn improves seed set. If you garden in a short-season climate and want a head start, you can sow into biodegradable peat or paper pots that go into the ground intact, minimizing root disturbance, but direct sowing remains the surest route.

Watering, Feeding, and Care

Keep young anise plants evenly moist while they establish, as drought at the seedling stage can stall them badly. Once growing strongly, anise is fairly drought-tolerant and needs only moderate watering, about an inch a week in dry spells; ease off as the plants flower and set seed, since dry, sunny conditions during ripening produce the most aromatic, fully cured seed. A light mulch helps conserve moisture early and keeps weeds down while the slow seedlings establish.

Anise is a light feeder. If you prepared the bed with compost, it likely needs nothing more; at most, a single light feeding early in growth is plenty. Keep the area weeded, especially while plants are small, because anise competes poorly with vigorous weeds. The plants generally need no pruning, though pinching the very first weak flush of growth can encourage a sturdier, bushier plant. Anise flowers are magnets for beneficial insects and pollinators, an added bonus in any garden, and they pair nicely with efforts to attract beneficial insects to your garden.

Harvesting Seed vs. Leaf

Harvesting the Leaves

If you want anise foliage for the kitchen, you can begin snipping the young, feathery lower leaves once the plant is established and growing well, generally a few weeks after the seedlings get going. The fresh leaves carry a milder version of the seed’s sweet licorice flavor and are lovely chopped into salads, fruit dishes, soups, and seafood. Harvest sparingly, taking only a few leaves at a time, because over-picking the foliage weakens the plant and reduces your eventual seed crop. For most growers, the leaves are a pleasant bonus and the seeds are the main event.

Harvesting the Seed

The seed is what makes anise worth growing, and timing the harvest is the key skill. Anise flowers in mid- to late summer, and the seeds ripen over the following weeks, typically about 100 to 120 days from sowing. Watch the flower umbels: when the seeds turn from green to a grayish-brown and the umbels begin to dry, the crop is ready. Harvest on a dry morning after the dew has lifted. Cut the whole seed heads with several inches of stem and gather them gently, as fully ripe seeds shatter and drop easily.

To finish curing and to catch every seed, bundle the cut stems and hang them upside down inside paper bags in a warm, dry, airy place, or lay the heads on screens. Over one to two weeks the seeds finish drying and fall free; rub the dried umbels between your hands to thresh out the remaining seeds, then winnow away the chaff. Store the clean, fully dry seed in an airtight jar away from light and heat, where it keeps its aroma for two to three years. Save a few of the best seeds to replant next spring.

Pests, Diseases, and Troubleshooting

• Poor or no germination: Usually cold soil, old seed, or a dried-out seedbed. Sow in warm soil with fresh seed and keep evenly moist.
• Seeds don’t ripen before frost: The season was too short or cool. Choose your warmest spot, sow as early as safely possible, and in cold climates grow mainly for leaves.
• Flopping, sprawling plants: Wind or rich soil causing weak growth. Grow plants close together for mutual support, shelter from wind, and avoid over-fertilizing.
• Aphids: May cluster on tender growth and flower heads. Hose off or use insecticidal soap; beneficial insects drawn to the flowers usually keep them in check.
• Root or crown rot: From heavy, wet soil. Improve drainage and avoid overwatering.

Using and Storing Your Anise Harvest

Dried anise seed is intensely aromatic and a little goes a long way. Use whole or lightly crushed seeds in baked goods, breads, cookies, and cakes; in spice blends and pickles; in homemade liqueurs and teas; and to flavor savory dishes from sausages to braises. Toasting the seeds briefly in a dry pan before use deepens their flavor. The fresh leaves are best used the day they’re picked, as they don’t dry well, while the seed is the form to store for the long haul.

Growing your own anise connects you to a spice with thousands of years of culinary history, and it slots neatly alongside other seed herbs like caraway and fenugreek. If you enjoy raising your own flavorings, explore the rest of our herb and plant growing guides to build out a complete kitchen-garden spice rack.