One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

In Methuen you can determine when you can plant perilla by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Perilla

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant perilla until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant perilla in Methuen 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 Methuen. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Methuen and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Methuen you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your perilla in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Methuen

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Methuen

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