The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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 getting a good idea when you can plant runner beans is to check out the USDA zone info for Charlotte.

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 means that you must wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant runner beans in Charlotte 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. If you wait any later than that and your runner beans may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your runner beans indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Charlotte. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Charlotte is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Charlotte you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your runner beans in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charlotte

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Charlotte

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