One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The first opportunity to plant scarlet runner beans in Austin can be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Scarlet Runner Beans

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant scarlet runner beans until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant scarlet runner beans in Austin 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. If you wait any later than that and your scarlet runner beans may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your scarlet runner beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Austin. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Austin is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Austin there is a last frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your scarlet runner beans if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Austin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Austin

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