One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's the best time to plant scarlet runner beans is to look at the USDA zone info for California.

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.

Since scarlet runner beans require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant scarlet runner beans in California 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your scarlet runner beans may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your scarlet runner beans indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in California. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for California is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in California there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your scarlet runner beans in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for California

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 California

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