One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when it's a good idea to plant perilla is to consult the USDA zone info for Bellingham.

Planting Calendar for Perilla

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

Perilla require warm weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant perilla in Bellingham 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your perilla indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Bellingham. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bellingham is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Bellingham it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your perilla in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bellingham

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 Bellingham

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