One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. 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 it's a good idea to plant scarlet runner beans is to use the USDA zone info for Alpine.

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.

Scarlet Runner Beans are not cold tolerant which means that you need 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 Alpine 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your scarlet runner beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Alpine the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Alpine is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Alpine you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your scarlet runner beans in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alpine

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 Alpine

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