How to Grow Japanese Shiso Purple
Perilla frutescens var. crispa
Japanese Shiso Purple is a vibrant culinary herb prized for its unique flavor and striking foliage. Gardeners grow it to add color, aroma, and fresh taste to salads, teas, and garnishes while enjoying an easy-to-grow annual.
📷 Wikimedia CommonsStarting Japanese Shiso Purple: indoors or direct sow?
🌾 Sow directly in the garden — Japanese Shiso Purple is not usually started indoors.
Direct sow seeds outdoors after the last frost date; do not start indoors or transplant seedlings.
Soil, care & harvest
Prepare rich soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.5 for optimal growth. As a warm-season crop, sow seeds directly outdoors after the last frost date once temperatures are consistently mild. Press seeds lightly into the surface; they typically germinate within seven to fourteen days under these conditions.
Space plants twelve to eighteen inches apart to ensure good air circulation. Provide consistent moisture, aiming for about one inch of water per week. Apply a light mulch to retain soil moisture and feed regularly during the active growing season to maintain lush foliage.
Watch for Japanese beetles, flea beetles, and aphids; encourage beneficial insects or hand-pick pests early. Prevent fungal issues like downy mildew by ensuring good airflow and avoiding overhead watering in humid weather. Harvest leaves starting at sixty to seventy days after sowing when plants reach full size.
When to Plant Japanese Shiso Purple
Planting windows vary by USDA hardiness zone. Look up yours by ZIP code.
Companion Plants for Japanese Shiso Purple
✓ Good companions
Beans fix nitrogen in soil benefiting shiso, while shiso repels bean beetles
Shiso attracts beneficial insects and may help deter cucumber beetles
Both enjoy warm weather and shiso helps repel flea beetles that damage eggplant
Shiso provides partial shade for cool-season lettuce and deters slugs
Both repel similar pests and marigolds enhance shiso's pest-deterrent properties
Act as trap crops for aphids and other pests, protecting shiso
Shiso deters aphids and spider mites that commonly attack pepper plants
Shiso repels tomato hornworms and other pests while improving tomato flavor
✗ Keep away from
Releases juglone toxin that inhibits growth and can kill shiso plants
Allelopathic compounds inhibit germination and growth of shiso and most herbs
Aggressive spreading habit competes for space and nutrients, can overwhelm shiso
Nutrition Facts
Per 100g serving (USDA FoodData Central)
