The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Derby should be reffered to in order to determine when it's a good idea to plant perilla.

Planting Calendar for Perilla

Frost tolerance for perilla:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since perilla are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant perilla in Derby is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant perilla and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your perilla may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your perilla indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Derby. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Derby is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Derby last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your perilla in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Derby

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Derby

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