When to Plant Runner beans in Alton, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Alton it's a good idea to determine when you can plant runner beans.


Planting Calendar for Runner beans

Frost tolerance for runner beans: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant 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 runner beans
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant runner beans
Probably not a good time to plant runner beans

The earliest that you can plant runner beans in Alton 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 runner beans and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your runner beans may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your runner beans indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Alton. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Alton is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Alton last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your runner beans in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Alton

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