How to Grow Cluster Beans USA
On this page
In the US, cluster beans are ready to harvest 45–100 days after planting.
The short answer
- Ready in
- 45–100 days
- Site
- soil pH 7–8
Cluster Bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba)
Also known as: Guar · 2 sources cited
Quick Facts
Soil & Growing Conditions
Harvest & Storage
Cluster bean through the season
Plan your Cluster Beans planting
When to sow and plant Cluster Beans depends on your own frost dates. Check the USA vegetable planting calendar. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.
What the research guides add
Cluster bean is the same plant as guar, a heat-loving summer legume, so the question for most gardens is whether the soil gets warm enough.
- A coarse, upright, bushy, drought-resistant summer annual, 2 to 9 feet tall, native to India, where it is grown for green fodder and for pods used as food. (UF/IFAS Extension)
- It is sensitive to cold, so grow it in the warm season; a soil temperature of 70°F is necessary for germination. (UF/IFAS Extension)
- It is a short-day plant, setting denser clusters in winter than in summer in Puerto Rico, and it grows better when irrigated even though it is fairly drought resistant. (UF/IFAS Extension)
- Where killing frosts are a danger, Florida advises a spring or a fall crop. Its culture (spacing and method of seeding) is similar to soybean. (UF/IFAS Extension)
- Arizona describes guar as very well adapted to arid and semiarid climates with high temperature and plenty of sunshine, and growing best in well-drained soil of coarse to medium texture. (University of Arizona SBAR)
- Guar is susceptible to waterlogging, so heavy clay soils are not recommended; where drainage is poor, raised beds protect the roots from root pathogens. (University of Arizona SBAR)
Cluster bean (guar) in the USA: climate data
| City | USDA zone | Last spring freeze (32°F) | First fall freeze (32°F) | Freeze-free days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bismarck, ND | 4a | 14 May | 27 Sep | 136 |
| Madison, WI | 5b | 1 May | 10 Oct | 160 |
| Milwaukee, WI | 6a | 19 Apr | 29 Oct | 192 |
| Atlanta, GA | 8a | 15 Mar | 20 Nov | 252 |
| Orlando, FL | 10a | 25 Jan | winter freezes only | 355 |
| San Diego, CA | 11a | none in a median year | none in a median year | 365 |
Dates are the median 32°F freeze dates and freeze-free days from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; zones come from the USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map (ZIP code of each city centre).
Sources for this section
- University of Florida IFAS Extension: HS608 Guar, Cyamopsis tetragonoloba
- University of Arizona, Sustainable Bioeconomy for Arid Regions: Guar
Section researched and checked on 25 October 2026 by the SoilCommander Editorial Team. How we check facts: editorial policy.
Last verified 2026-10-25
Growing Cluster Bean in another region
Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.
Sources
The full list of 2 sources behind this guide (Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU Agritech Portal)) is in the references of our UK guide to cluster beans; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do cluster beans take to grow?
Typically 45–100 days, depending on cultivar and growing conditions.
What soil pH do cluster beans need?
A pH of about 7–8. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.
Plan next season before the problems start
Almost everything on this page resolves to your own frost dates rather than the calendar — the last spring frost moves by roughly two months between zone 3 and zone 10. The USA Garden Planner works from your zone so the timing is already decided before the season starts.
Get the USA Garden Planner →Instant PDF download · Written for US growing conditions
How this guide is put together
The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against USDA hardiness-zone and frost-date data, with Cooperative Extension sources cited directly where one exists for a crop. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.
Related guides
More from the same group (peas & beans):
Growing advice for your part of the USA
Timing and conditions change a lot inside one country. These guides cover frost dates and growing seasons region by region.
Where To Go From Here
Take this crop from reading into a written plan for your own beds.
Keep going
Plan the next step
Use the printable SoilCommander planner for your region to turn this guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and weekly garden tasks.