When to Plant Scarlet Runner Beans in Pella, IA

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Pella it's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea 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 all chance of frost has passed.

You should not 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 Pella 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. If you wait any later than that and your scarlet runner beans may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your scarlet runner beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Pella. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Pella is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Pella you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your scarlet runner beans if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Pella

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 Pella

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