One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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 scarlet runner beans is to check out the USDA zone info for Marion.

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.

You can not plant scarlet runner beans until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant scarlet runner beans in Marion 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 fully mature. Starting your scarlet runner beans indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Marion. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Marion is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Marion you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your scarlet runner beans if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marion

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Marion

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