One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Memphis can be read to figure out when it's the best time to plant runner beans.

Planting Calendar for Runner beans

Frost tolerance for runner beans:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Runner beans require warm weather which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant runner beans in Memphis 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 runner beans and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your runner beans may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your runner beans indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Memphis. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Memphis is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Memphis it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your runner beans if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Memphis

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Memphis

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