One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A common way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant perilla is to examine the USDA zone info for Dade City.

Planting Calendar for Perilla

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

Since perilla require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant perilla in Dade City 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. 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Dade City. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Dade City is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Dade City there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your perilla in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dade City

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 Dade City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Dade City.