Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's possible to plant perilla is to consult the USDA zone info for Swarthmore.

Planting Calendar for Perilla

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

It's a bad idea to plant perilla until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant perilla in Swarthmore 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Swarthmore the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Swarthmore and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Swarthmore it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your perilla if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Swarthmore

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 Swarthmore

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