When to Plant Scarlet Runner Beans in San Jose, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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 first chance to plant scarlet runner beans in San Jose can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.


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 when the weather gets warmer 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 San Jose 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your scarlet runner beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in San Jose. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for San Jose is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in San Jose there is a last frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your scarlet runner beans if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Jose

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 San Jose

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Jose.