Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant runner beans in Charlottesville should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Runner beans

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

Since runner beans are not cold tolerant it's necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant runner beans in Charlottesville 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 runner beans and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your runner beans may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your runner beans indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Charlottesville. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Charlottesville is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Charlottesville there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your runner beans in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charlottesville

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 Charlottesville

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