The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of determining when it's a good idea to plant runner beans is to use the USDA zone info for Joplin.

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 it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant runner beans in Joplin 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

In Joplin the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Joplin is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Joplin you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your runner beans in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Joplin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Joplin

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