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.

You can figure out when it's possible to plant scarlet runner beans in West Des Moines by checking out 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 not a good idea to plant scarlet runner beans until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant scarlet runner beans in West Des Moines 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your scarlet runner beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in West Des Moines. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for West Des Moines may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in West Des Moines it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your scarlet runner beans in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Des Moines

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in West Des Moines

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Des Moines.