The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. 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 estimating when it's possible to plant perilla is to check out the USDA zone info for West Chicago.

Planting Calendar for Perilla

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

It's a bad idea to plant perilla until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant perilla in West Chicago 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 really do well. If you are starting your perilla indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in West Chicago. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for West Chicago may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in West Chicago you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your perilla in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Chicago

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in West Chicago

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Chicago.