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

By looking at the USDA zone info for Melbourne it's a good idea to figure out when to plant perilla.

Planting Calendar for Perilla

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

Since perilla do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant perilla in Melbourne 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. Starting your perilla indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Melbourne. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Melbourne and it is different every year. Half of the time in Melbourne last frost occurs after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your perilla in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Melbourne

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 Melbourne

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