I recently discovered several Shiso/Perilla plants in an uncultivated area of my property. I had heard that it was naturalized here, & must say that I was more than pleasantly surprised when I picked, smelled, & tasted a leaf to find that pleasant minty/licorice scent/taste that enhances both Korean & Japanese dishes.
Anyway, while I do plan on potting up a few of these - they're very ornamental as well - I was wondering what the best way would be to ensure I have them next year as well. Bring some pots indoors (I have a fabulous east/west/south sunroom? Allow some to go to seed & try to save it?
Shiso/Perilla
Breezy...I was at a friend's house last week and we dug up some Perilla/Shiso from her back yard. At least that is what it sure seems to me to be. (She has always called it some type of coleus.)
This has the square stems the perilla has and also the fringed foliage and a slight hint of a minty/anise aroma. Do you know if there is a look-alike plant that would mimic perilla? I would hate to eat a "coleus" but I declare, with the foliage, square stems, and mild aroma this has GOT to be perilla, eh?
She says this stuff comes up every year in her yard...I guess it drops seeds or maybe in our zone the roots stay alive over winter. (By the way, my friend is in her upper 70's and was born in this house...she says it's been here as long as she can remember. I love going to her place!)
Yup - that's it!! The aroma when crushed & the slightly spicy taste are dead giveaways.
Here in my yard I have both the green & the red varieities. Plan to try potting some up before they get accidentally weedwhacked, & then will go thru my Asian cookbooks & see what I can wrastle up to try recipe-wise.
Breezy, we started some from seed and it is like dill, it just keeps coming up from seed. Not as many plants as dill but enough that we always have plenty. I also have a great sunroom and have good luck with herbs over the winter but Shiso seems to come back on it's own so I've never brought it in. I don't think you'll have any problem with it coming back as we live a lot farther north than you do.
Nancy
My shiso story:
2 years ago I saw these seeds in a catalog. 'Very tricky to propagate' stated the blurb on the seed package, detailing some specific temps to leave the seeds at for certain lengths of time before planting. Well I figured I was up for the challenge and carefully followed the directions to the letter - er, degree. Planted the little babies and enjoyed them all summer, proud that I had navigated the difficulties of propagation every time I saw them and was rather saddened to think they were annuals and I would have to go through all that again if I wanted to grow them the next year.
Imagine my surprise the next year when 50 shiso seedlings sprouted in the same spot with no help from me. In fact there were so many I had to thin them very drastically.
The joys of gardening....
What's funny is that early this year I was thinking of buying seeds of this since I enjoy Asian cooking so much.
So glad I didn't bother since I obviously have my own indigenous supply.
I love it ornamentally and it will grow anywhere! I have it in deep shade in unamended sandy soil and it still cranks. The friend who gave me the start has it growing in the gavel of the driveway. One of those "old faithful" plants for me now.
I am a Perilla fan! And I enjoy its use to dye salt-cured "Umeboshi plums". It might be used (don't quote me) to color pickled ginger as well. In Japan, the green variety is the one used to flavor foods and the red to color.
Perilla has been mistakenly sold as "Purple Basil" some time ago by Park's Seed and I got my start from someone who called it that. One sniff and you'll know its not. It was once classified as a coleus, so I'm not surprised that it crossed with one to make "Perilla Magilla". I'm thinking there might be more crosses to made by growing the two together or by crossing them.
BTW- I couldn't detect ant scent to "Magilla", mabe thats just me but description say it has an odor (over that of a coleus).
Occasionally you'll get the red flat-leaf form from a 'crispa' stand. The red will cross with the green, and for me, I have some greens with redder tints than is frequently found on the green in full sun.
I got my green start from a wild patch by the creek where I live.
raydio.
This message was edited Sep 20, 2005 3:49 PM
Howdy raydio! Haven't seen you post much here so excuse me if I say "A Hearty Welcome to the DG Forums"!
Always glad to see another DGer in the great State of NC!
Sounds like you have lots of info regarding perilla. Thanks for sharing. Have any special recipes/dishes you might like to share?
Shoe.
(Near Durham, NC)
Hi! Thanks for the welcome. (I did just chime in unannounced, didn't I?) I'm in Gaston County, just west of Charlotte. I've visited the triangle and Efland as well (Do you know Joe Applegate?)
I just joined Dave's less than a week ago and have been busy on the Vines forum, so I'm pretty much a newbie.
I haven't used either of the perillas as I don't do a lot of cooking. But in reading up on one of my faves, I came across the info about its use in cookery, after first seeing it on the ingredients panel of Umeboshi paste.
I think shiso is one of those herbs like cilantro and ambrosia (Chenopodium) that one can love or hate, depending. I'm tolerant of all three........I'll prolly keep it as an ornamental and maybe play around with it as a dyestuff.
I posted to the Foliage forum, but I'll add here, that I personally do not believe "Magilla" to be a perilla, but a coleus, or *perhaps* and intergeneric hybrid. Perilla for me has grown as a true annual, dying out at the end of the season. I haven't tried to root a cutting. Since coleus is a tender perennial and "Magilla" is as well, I think in any case it is more a coleus with an unfortunate name. I'm still looking on the web for the originator's information, but keep getting flower industry blurbs that are very often incorrect. (They frequently call coleus an annual because it is grown as one, not because it is one.)
I would appreciate any pointers to the *real* story, if its out there......
Cheers,
raydio.
PS Perilla germinates around 55 degrees F. This might explain the "fickleness" mentioned in the thread.
This message was edited Sep 20, 2005 5:53 PM