Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

A way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant runner beans is to check out the USDA zone info for Zone 9b.

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 is necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant runner beans in Zone 9b is March. However, you really should wait until April 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 September. If you wait any later than that and your runner beans may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your runner beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Zone 9b. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 9b is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 9b it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your runner beans if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 9b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 9b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 9b.