One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant runner beans is to consult the USDA zone info for Ypsilanti.

Planting Calendar for Runner beans

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

Runner beans require warm weather which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Ypsilanti. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ypsilanti may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ypsilanti there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your runner beans if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ypsilanti

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 Ypsilanti

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