One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant scarlet runner beans in Evanston should be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Scarlet Runner Beans

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

You can not plant scarlet runner beans until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant scarlet runner beans in Evanston 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your scarlet runner beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Evanston the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Evanston and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Evanston you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your scarlet runner beans in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Evanston

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 Evanston

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