One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant scarlet runner beans in West Chicago 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 has passed.

Since scarlet runner beans do not do well in cold weather you have to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant scarlet runner beans in West Chicago 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. Any later than that and your scarlet runner beans may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your scarlet runner beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in West Chicago. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for West Chicago is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in West Chicago there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your scarlet runner beans in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Chicago

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 West Chicago

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