One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant perilla is to check out the USDA zone info for Fitchburg.

Planting Calendar for Perilla

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

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

The earliest that you can plant perilla in Fitchburg 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. Any later than that and your perilla may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your perilla indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Fitchburg. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Fitchburg may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Fitchburg there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your perilla in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fitchburg

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 Fitchburg

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