When to Plant Runner beans in Pontiac, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Pontiac you can figure out when it's possible to plant runner beans 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 the last frost.

Since runner beans are not cold tolerant you need to wait until 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 Pontiac 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your runner beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Pontiac. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Pontiac is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Pontiac you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your runner beans in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pontiac

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 Pontiac

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