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.

One way of determining when it's possible to plant perilla is to look at the USDA zone info for Odessa.

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 when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant perilla in Odessa 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your perilla indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Odessa. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Odessa may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Odessa there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your perilla in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Odessa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Odessa

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