When to Plant Runner beans in Lockport, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant runner beans in Lockport should be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Runner beans

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

Runner beans require warm weather which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

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 Lockport 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your runner beans may not have a chance to fully mature. 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 Lockport. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Lockport may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Lockport you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your runner beans in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lockport

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 Lockport

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