Bean Plant Growth

I am willing to bet that you probably think that this is going to be a discussion about bean plant growth and how to grow stringless beans.

Well if you do I hope that you will not be disappointed if we take you in a different direction where we will place special emphasis on the scarlet runner bean.

I have planted scarlet runner beans to cover sections of my fence that I chose to enjoy flowers and attractive foliage on. In mild climates it is a perennial but in our zone 6B it can only be treated as an annual vine. You can either save some seed from year to year or purchase seed in packet form from any good supplier in the spring.

Scarlet runner growth is different from the common bean in that the cotyledons stay in the ground during the germination process and as mentioned above is a perennial in mild climates.

The pods are edible but must be harvested early when they are still tender. The seeds can either be dried or consumed fresh whichever you desire. Scarlet runner beans contain a toxic lectin and must be well cooked prior to serving.

There are several varieties of scarlet runner beans such as several red flowering green leafed forms. However, the one that I always choose to plant has reddish flowers with purplish foliage and my wife and I find it very attractive.

So if you have a trellis or section of fence that you would like to cover in a hurry then consider selecting the scarlet runner as I feel sure that it will please you.