Territorial Seeds has some runner beans that intrigue me- one is named Sunset- has peach colored blossoms, and another has red & white flowers. I am thinking of planting them on a light pole in my front yard- does anyone have opinions concerning the taste & texture of their beans? It would be so neat to have both beauty & food!
Asking for opinions on Runner Beans
Ruuner beans (Phaseolus coccineus) should do well in your climate, they like cool wet summers. Don't like heat at all. Many folks like them as green beans, too hot here so they rarely bear. Pretty flower tho.
Jo-Parrot - Was the red/white one "Painted Lady Bean?" I loved the one with the peach-colored flowers.
The only runner bean I am familiar with is "Scarlet Runner" which has a real beany flavor. It's draw-back is that it is very stringy so must be picked when rather small.
Territorial Seed also lists "Scarlet Emperor Bean" which, from it's description, sounds very much like "Scarlet Runner"
Farmerdill is right, they like cool wet summers - I grew up in England, so they did extrememly well there!
How about mildly cool fall? Can I start them in my eBuckets and let them run up a trellis? Or do then need the ground for running?
We definitely do not have cool wet summers- here in the desert it is hot & dry! I think I will try them anyway- you don't know unless you try- my favorite green pole bean is Kwintus-(Park Seed)- I have always grown Ky Wonder, but they are stringy- Kwintus will never get tough or stringy no matter how big- I have had several get away, and every one was sweet and tender- that's my only one from now on!
Gymgirl = my first summer here in NC I grew Scarlet Runner Beans - I set the seeds after all danger of frost was past. They grew very well, flowered wonderfully, but did not set any beans until the weather cooled down in the fall.
In the meantime, the hummingbirds and bumble bees enjoyed the flowers,
I was going to sow more seeds last summer, but found hubby had eaten all of them! This summer I tried a regular pole bean, but the taste wasn't to our liking. Next year, I plan to sow Scarlet Runner again. We both grew up with this bean, so don't mind the strings :)
Can I grow them in a container and let them run out?
I grew a runner bean here last winter called White Lady from TM (it was the only packet of seeds I could find locally). They grew like crazy, flowered like crazy and the wind blew so much the flowers fell off and very few beans. We can grow beans fall/winter/early spring.
3rd time's the charm: CAN I GROW THEM IN A CONTAINER AND LET THEM RUN? ^_^
Gymgirl, they need a trellis to run on, if they run on the ground the beans get dirty. If you don't overcrowd them, they should do fine in a container.
THANK YOU, CALALILY! ^_^
Gymgirl - my Scarlet Runners grew to be taller than I am (5'7") so I agree with Calalily - they need a trellis, or string to grow on.
Gymgirl you can do anything you want...... but
Scarlet Runners need direction. If you grow them on the ground they will be impossible to pick. Beans like to stay dry and get rusty spots if water sits on them, which is more likely on the ground. On a trellis the wind and sun dry them quickly, God willing.
I have a friend that grows them in hanging baskets, and gets some beans even! They look neat, bloom very well but the beans are minimal. Here on the North West Coast I have to shock the vigorous plants after they begin blooming by removing about half of the huge leaves. Then they stop dropping flowers and get busy making beans. I haven't tried other colored flowers.
Enyeholt, thanks for that explanation. I didn't know about water causing the rust. That's a very good thing to know!
The red and white ones do sound like Painted Lady. Looks nice and has quite a good flavour. For flavour I'd recommend Desiree. T&M do sell them I believe. They have white flowers. Scarlet Runner is just a generic name for runner/kidney/pole beans - at least it is in Europe - rather than a distinct variety. In England I think one of the most popular varieties is Enorma. They are very straight and long, and win a lot of prizes in village shows. They also have quite a good taste.
Pat George