Purple Shiso, Heirloom Herb Seeds

Purple Shiso — The Japanese Culinary Herb With a Flavor All Its Own

Purple Shiso (also known as Perilla or Beefsteak Plant) is one of the most distinctive and versatile herbs you can grow. Its complex flavor — somewhere between mint and basil, with hints of anise and cinnamon — is unlike anything else in the herb garden. Leaves are rich in calcium and iron, and used across Japanese cuisine for seasoning, coloring, pickling, and garnishing. Wrap them around sushi, serve alongside sashimi, add to soups and tempura, or sprinkle over rice and salads.

Compact at 1–3 feet tall and just 1 foot wide, Purple Shiso fits beautifully in containers and herb gardens. It can also be harvested as a microgreen in just 16–22 days.

Why Grow Purple Shiso?

• Complex mint-basil-anise-cinnamon flavor — unlike any other herb in the garden
• Rich in calcium & iron — nutritious leaves used fresh, pickled, or as garnish
• Essential Japanese culinary herb — sushi, sashimi, soups, tempura, rice, and salads
• Dual harvest — full leaves at 60–85 days or microgreens in 16–22 days
• Compact & container friendly — 1–3 ft tall, 1 ft wide, tolerates shade to full sun
• Open-pollinated heirloom — save seed year after year

Growing Notes

Important: Perilla seeds require cold stratification to break germination inhibitors. Place seeds in a damp paper towel in a sealed bag and refrigerate for 2–4 weeks before sowing, OR direct sow outdoors in fall and allow natural winter cold to stratify them. Start indoors 4 weeks before last frost, or direct sow after last frost. Sow very shallowly — seeds need light to germinate. Thin to 12 inches apart. Pinch regularly for bushy growth. Use leaves fresh — they lose most flavor when dried.

Packed and shipped by Box Garden Seeds LLC — heirloom seeds grown without GMOs, selected for flavor, resilience, and your garden’s success.