One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant perilla is to examine the USDA zone info for Mercedes.

Planting Calendar for Perilla

Frost tolerance for perilla:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Perilla do not do well in cold weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant perilla in Mercedes 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 perilla and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your perilla may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your perilla indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Mercedes the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mercedes and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Mercedes it frosts late in the year after February 15 so always be ready to cover your perilla if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mercedes

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Mercedes

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mercedes.