This will be my first year growing shiso, which is an herb grown for its aromatic, citrusy-tasting leaves. It’s used primarily in Asian dishes such as salads, noodle dishes and sushi rolls. While I have never grown shiso, I believe I’ve had it in a few dishes during my lifetime.

I’m growing Bicolored Shiso from seeds that I’ve gotten from Renee’s Garden Seed Company. The selling point for this variety is that not only does it have that wonderful shiso flavor, it also is a beautiful ornamental plant. It has fringed, 3-in. leaves that are strikingly blue-green on the surface with a dark burgundy color underneath the leaves. In addition, this Bicolored Shiso is a prolific bloomer, putting out tons of lavender-pink flowers. Because it promises to be so beautiful and also aromatic, I’m planning on putting it in some containers along my patio so I can fully enjoy it. With it so close, I’ll also be able to easily grab some for adding to dishes.

How to Sow Shiso Seeds

Shiso is an herbaceous plant that is a warm-season annual. It germinates within 7-14 days given the right conditions. For cold-winter gardeners, you have two choices. Sow the seeds indoors in a seed-starting mix an 1 inch about 4-6 weeks before the outdoor temperatures are reliably 50F both day and night. Or, sow seeds 1 inch apart directly outside once it’s reliably above 50F. Folks with mild winters can follow those last directions.

I’ve decided I’ll plant this in some nursery pots outside rather than sow the seeds indoors. When the seedlings are a good size—maybe a month old—I’ll then transplant them into containers with some colorful annuals.

How to Grow

As your plants grow, you’ll want to encourage branching. Why? Because you want as many of those tasty and aromatic shiso leaves to harvest as possible, that’s why! Pinching off the growing tips when the plant is 8 inches tall will allow the lateral shoots on the stems to growing, giving you more leaves.

Here are a few other tips:

• As the plant grows, you’ll regularly harvest sprays of branches by cutting the stems just above two new lateral branches.
• Prevent the plant from flowering. Do that by pinching off the flower buds.
• Feed the plants regularly with an all-purpose plant food to promote new growth. More growth means more shiso to harvest!