When to Plant Scarlet Runner Beans in Oakland, CA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant scarlet runner beans is to refer to the USDA zone info for Oakland.


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.

It's a bad idea to plant scarlet runner beans until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

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 Oakland is February. However, you really should wait until March 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your scarlet runner beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in Oakland. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Oakland and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Oakland last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to protect your scarlet runner beans if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oakland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Oakland

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