Red Shiso, Heirloom Herb Seeds

Red Shiso, Heirloom Herb Seeds — Japan's Essential Pickling and Coloring Herb With Mint-Basil-Anise Flavor

Red Shiso (Perilla frutescens) — also known as Red Perilla or Beefsteak Plant — is the essential herb of Japanese pickling and one of the most distinctive culinary herbs you can grow. The deep red-purple leaves carry a complex flavor somewhere between mint and basil, with hints of anise and cinnamon, and they impart a beautiful crimson color to umeboshi plums, pickled ginger, and other preserved foods. Use leaves whole or cut into strips as a garnish for sushi and sashimi; add to soups, tempura, and rice dishes; or grow as a microgreen for a fast harvest in just 16–22 days. Rich in calcium and iron, every part of the plant is edible — leaves, flower buds, and seeds.

Compact plants grow 1–3 feet tall and just 1 foot wide. Full maturity in 60–85 days.

Why Grow Red Shiso?

• Essential Japanese pickling herb — imparts beautiful crimson color to umeboshi and pickled foods
• Complex mint-basil-anise-cinnamon flavor — unlike anything else in the herb garden
• All parts edible — leaves, flower buds, and seeds all used in cooking
• Fast microgreen harvest — ready in just 16–22 days
• Rich in calcium and iron — nutritious as well as flavorful
• Open-pollinated heirloom — save seed year after year

Growing Notes

Cold stratify seeds before sowing — place seeds in a moist paper towel in the refrigerator for 1–3 months, or sow in pots and place outside against a north wall through winter. Keep soil moist. Start indoors 4–6 weeks before last frost or direct sow after frost danger has passed. Surface sow — seeds need light to germinate. Thin to 12 inches apart in full sun to part shade. Pinch back regularly for bushy growth. Use leaves fresh — they lose most flavor when dried.

Days to maturity: 60–85 days (full); 16–22 days (microgreen)
Packet size: 0.7 g / 200+ seeds
Type: Heirloom, Open-Pollinated, Annual
Plant height: 1–3 feet
Spacing: 12 inches (2 per sq ft)
Sun: Full sun to part shade
USDA Zones: 1–11