Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Monterey you should be able to figure out when you can plant perilla.

Planting Calendar for Perilla

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant perilla until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant perilla in Monterey 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 really do well. If you are starting your perilla indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on January 31 in Monterey. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Monterey is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Monterey it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to cover your perilla in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Monterey

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 Monterey

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