One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Oak Ridge it's possible to estimate when it's possible to plant scarlet runner beans.

Planting Calendar for Scarlet Runner Beans

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

Scarlet Runner Beans are not cold tolerant which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant scarlet runner beans in Oak Ridge 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your scarlet runner beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Oak Ridge the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Oak Ridge is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Oak Ridge it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your scarlet runner beans if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Ridge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Oak Ridge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Ridge.