Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant perilla in El Centro should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Perilla

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

It's not a good idea to plant perilla until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant perilla in El Centro is February. However, you really should wait until March 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. If you wait any later than that and your perilla may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your perilla indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In El Centro the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for El Centro is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in El Centro it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to protect your perilla in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Centro

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in El Centro

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Centro.