One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when to plant scarlet runner beans is to examine the USDA zone info for Fairfax.

Planting Calendar for Scarlet Runner Beans

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant scarlet runner beans until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant scarlet runner beans in Fairfax is March. However, you really should wait until April 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 September. 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. If you are starting your scarlet runner beans indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Fairfax. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Fairfax may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Fairfax you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your scarlet runner beans in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fairfax

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Fairfax

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