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When to Plant Scarlet Runner Beans in South Portland, ME

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for South Portland can be read to figure out when it's the best time to plant scarlet runner beans.


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.

Scarlet Runner Beans require warm weather which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant scarlet runner beans
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant scarlet runner beans
Probably not a good time to plant scarlet runner beans

The earliest that you can plant scarlet runner beans in South Portland 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. If you are starting your scarlet runner beans indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In South Portland the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for South Portland is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in South Portland you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your scarlet runner beans if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South Portland

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 South Portland

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Portland.