When to Plant Scarlet Runner Beans in Columbus, WI

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's possible to plant scarlet runner beans is to refer to the USDA zone info for Columbus.


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.

You really shouldn't plant scarlet runner beans until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant scarlet runner beans
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant scarlet runner beans
Probably not a good time to plant scarlet runner beans

The earliest that you can plant scarlet runner beans in Columbus 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 Columbus the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Columbus and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Columbus you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your scarlet runner beans if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Columbus

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

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

Plants to Grow in Columbus

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