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.

The first opportunity to plant perilla in Charleston should be estimated by checking out 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 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 Charleston 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 really do well. Starting your perilla indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Charleston. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Charleston is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Charleston you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your perilla in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charleston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Charleston

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