Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

The USDA zone info for South Bay should be reffered to in order to estimate when it's possible 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.

It's 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 South Bay 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. Any later than that and your perilla may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your perilla indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In South Bay the average date of last frost happens on January 31. You should expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for South Bay is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in South Bay you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to protect your perilla if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South Bay

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 South Bay

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Bay.