Last edited by shiny on 3 Nov 2026. View history
Runner Bean
How to sow runner bean: Direct seed outdoors once soil temperatures are above 10°C
Sun requirement for runner bean: Plant in Full Sun
The Runner, or Multiflora, Bean is a vining plant in the Fabaceae (legume) family that is native to Central America. It is sometimes called the Butter Bean, which can also refer to the Lima Bean, a separate species. The Runner Bean differs from other beans in that it can be grown as a perennial where the ground does not freeze. Runner Beans are grown for their edible beans and as an ornamental: plants produce brilliant red flowers that attract hummingbirds and multicolored seeds. Some varieties have white flowers. The seed pods have a knife-like shape and are usually green, but some purple cultivars exist. Pods are 15-30cm long and contain 6-10 2.5cm seeds. Different varieties have different colored seeds. Seeds can eaten fresh or as dried beans, but must be cooked to remove toxins. Blooms can be added to salads. Young pods can be cooked like green beans. Roots are eaten by indigenous peoples in Central America. Runner Beans benefit from trellising.
- 10
- plantings
- 5
- harvests
- 4
- seed packets
Runner bean facts
Lifespan
Height × spread
300cm × 30cmRow Spacing
20cmGrown for
pod harvested 4 timesCrop cycle
Max altitude
Optimal light
What are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For runner bean, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 5°C and a shortest growing cycle of 80 days at its best temperature, about 1120 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your runner bean will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
Growing runner beans
- Put up a frame of canes 1 week before planting out
- Sow seeds in pots 3 weeks before planting out
- Dig compost into the bed 2 weeks before planting out
- Set or refill beer traps for slugs and snails at planting out every week
- Tie the young plants to the canes 1 week after planting out
- Water deeply 2 weeks after planting out every week
- Mulch around the plants 3 weeks after planting out
- Pinch out the tips at the top of the canes 8 weeks after planting out
- Pick beans every few days at first harvest every week
- Cut plants down and leave the roots in 3 months after first harvest
How members grow runner beans
Sunniness
Planted from
Harvested for
Plant runner beans with
squash
Photos
PhotosRunner bean crops
Runner bean plantings
Video
Where runner beans grow
Only plantings by members who have set their locations are shown.
What people are saying about runner beans
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Who's planted runner beans
- shiny Big main bed · Wellington, NZ
- Lemony Garden · Reading England
- bigblen Garden · Rapaki Road,...
- WanderingFlower Garden · Kitchener, ON, Canada
- AuntyMarion Back Garden · N19 5JP, London, UK
shiny
Runner bean harvests
-
bigblen harvested 1 handful.
almost 7 years ago
-
bigblen harvested 200, weighing 0.4 kg.
over 7 years ago
-
AuntyMarion harvested 18.
about 11 years ago
bigblen harvested 1 handful.
Find runner bean seeds
View all runner bean seeds
- Purchase seeds via Ebay
- Sign in or sign up to list your seeds to trade.
Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Phaseolus coccineus L.
| Family / Taxonomy | Magnoliopsida Rosidae Fabales Leguminosae |
|---|---|
| Life form | herb |
| Life span | annual, perennial |
| Habit | climber/scrambler/scadent |
| Optimal soil depth | medium (50-150 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | medium |
| Optimal soil fertility | high |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
| Photoperiod | short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours) |
Learn more about runner beans
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