How to Grow Shiso
Shiso At a Glance
Difficulty
Easy
Category
Herb
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Tender
Cold Hardiness
Survives to 2°C
Plant Family
Lamiaceae
Growing Season
Warm Season
Plant Lifecycle
Annual
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
Shiso seed wakes up better after a cold spell, so mix it with damp sand in a bag and keep it in the fridge for 2 weeks first. Sow it outdoors about 1 week after your last frost, once the soil is warm, pressed in and barely covered, no deeper than 0.5 cm, since it needs light. It sprouts slowly, in 14 to 21 days: keep the soil damp and thin the seedlings to 30 cm apart.
Shiso is a fast, leafy herb in the mint family, with green or purple leaves that taste of mint, basil and a hint of spice. Let one plant drop its seed in fall and new seedlings usually pop up the next spring, sometimes a lot of them.
When To Start
Shiso needs warmth. Wait until your last frost has passed and the soil has warmed before sowing.
We do not have exact sowing dates for this one yet.
When should you plant Shiso?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Shiso Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Shiso Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Optional: start chilled shiso seed indoors
6 weeks before your last frost· optional
Sow chilled shiso seed outdoors once the soil is warm
1 week after your last frost
Start picking shiso leaves from the top
About 60 days after you plant it
Did you water your shiso seedlings today? Keep the top of the soil damp until they are up and growing.
About 1 days after you plant it
Your shiso should be growing well now. Pinch the top tips to make the plant bushier.
About 44 days after you plant it
Hi there! Pick shiso leaves from the top often, since the flavour is best before it flowers.
About 68 days after you plant it
Picking time may be here: check your shiso.
About 70 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
Shiso's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Expect sprouts in 14–21 days
Growing Tips
- 1Grow shiso in full sun or part shade, with a little afternoon shade where summers are hot.
- 2Mix compost into the soil, or grow it in a large pot of potting mix with compost.
- 3Keep the soil evenly moist, since dry plants turn tough.
- 4Feed with compost tea every 3 to 4 weeks.
- 5Pinch off the stem tips often so the plant grows bushy and leafy.
- 6Spray aphids or spider mites off with water, and pull extra seedlings in spring before they crowd out other plants.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
~70
Days to Maturity
60 cm
Mature Height
40 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
90 days
When to Pick
Pick young leaves from the top; flavour is best before flowering
How to Harvest
- 1Start picking once plants have several pairs of leaves, about 60 days after sowing.
- 2Pinch the top leaves off as you need them, which also keeps the plant bushy.
- 3Use the leaves fresh, in rice dishes, salads or as a wrap, because they lose flavour when dried.
- 4Pinch off flower buds to keep the leaves coming, but leave one plant to flower.
- 5The young flower spikes and green seed pods are edible too, and are often sprinkled over Japanese dishes.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
How to Save Seeds
Shiso flowers in late summer and makes seed in its first year, but green and purple shiso cross with each other, so grow only one colour if you want its seed to come true, and remember hybrid F1 seeds will not grow true. Let a few flower spikes turn brown and dry on the plant. Cut them into a paper bag and shake them to free the tiny round seeds. Shiso seed does not keep long, so store it labelled in a cool, dark, dry place and sow it within 1 to 2 years. If you do nothing at all, the plants drop their seed and come back on their own.
Seed Production
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