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When to Plant Scarlet Runner Beans in Westchester, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Westchester should be reviewed to figure out when it's the best time to plant scarlet runner beans.


Planting Calendar for Scarlet Runner Beans

Frost tolerance for scarlet runner beans: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Scarlet Runner Beans are not cold tolerant which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant scarlet runner beans
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant scarlet runner beans
Probably not a good time to plant scarlet runner beans

The earliest that you can plant scarlet runner beans in Westchester is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant scarlet runner beans and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your scarlet runner beans may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your scarlet runner beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Westchester. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Westchester may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Westchester there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your scarlet runner beans in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Westchester

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Westchester

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Westchester.