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

You will be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant perilla by checking out the USDA zone info for Mason City.

Planting Calendar for Perilla

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant perilla until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant perilla in Mason City 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. If you wait any later than that and your perilla may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your perilla indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Mason City. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Mason City is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Mason City there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your perilla if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mason City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Mason City

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