One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Birmingham you can determine when to plant perilla by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Perilla

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

Since perilla do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant perilla in Birmingham 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 fully mature. If you are starting your perilla indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Birmingham the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Birmingham is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Birmingham it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your perilla if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Birmingham

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 Birmingham

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