Shiso · Norfolk, Virginia, United States
When to plant shiso in Norfolk
Main outdoor window
17 Mar - 7 Apr
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
10 March
In Norfolk, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
2-22 Jun
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Norfolk
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Start indoors
27 Jan - 17 Feb
Six weeks before your last frost, under cover or on a windowsill.
Sow direct
17 Mar - 7 Apr
One week after your last frost.
Plant out
24 Mar - 14 Apr
Two weeks after your last frost.
Harvest
2-22 Jun
Shiso through the year
Against the frost risk in Norfolk
Why these dates
Killed by the first frost, like basil.
Seed packets and extension guides express timing as weeks either side of the last spring frost, because that is the only reference point that travels. Shiso are timed from 6 weeks before that frost for an indoor start, with planting out 2 weeks after it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Norfolk.
The median frost-free season here is 272 days, against 70 to 90 days to maturity for this crop counted from planting out. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.
Growing shiso in Norfolk
When should I plant shiso in Norfolk?
Aim for 17 Mar - 7 Apr in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 4-25 Apr - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will shiso be ready to harvest in Norfolk?
Expect to start picking around 2-22 Jun, based on 70 to 90 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will shiso tolerate?
Killed by the first frost, like basil.