Which way up to plant runner beans


Runner Beans - Grow your own

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RHS Growing Guides

Our detailed growing guide will help you with each step in successfully growing Runner beans.

  1. Getting Started
  2. Choosing
  3. Preparing the Ground
  4. Sowing
  5. Plant Care
  6. Pruning and Training
  7. Harvesting
  8. Problems

1

Getting Started

Getting Started

Choosing

Section 1 of 8

Runner beans are a veg plot staple – one of the easiest crops to grow, producing an abundance of long green pods from mid-summer to early autumn. Most are climbers, producing large harvests in a small area, with a few dwarf varieties, ideal for containers.

Easy to grow from seed and highly productive, runner beans are a great addition to any garden, large or small. Climbing varieties add vertical interest to veg plots, large containers or even borders, with their red, white or bi-coloured flowers, followed by clusters of long green beans. There are also dwarf varieties for small spaces and containers.  
 
Give runner beans sun, rich soil and plenty of water – they particularly thrive in cool wet summers. Pick the pods regularly when young, tender and stringless, to keep the harvest coming through summer and into autumn.

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2

Choosing

Getting Started

Preparing the Ground

Guide Start

Section 2 of 8

Most runner beans are climbers – they need tall, sturdy supports and do best in the ground, but can also be grown in large containers. As they grow vertically, climbers produce a large crop in a small area of ground. There are also a few dwarf varieties (up to 45cm/18in tall) – these are quick to grow, but produce a smaller crop. They’re great in containers and raised beds, and in exposed sites. Climbing beans take more time to reach cropping stage, but produce beans over a longer period, from mid-summer to early autumn if picked regularly.
 
There are many varieties to choose from, with different pod sizes, flower colours (red, white or both), disease resistance and heat tolerance. Look in particular for varieties with an RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM), which shows they performed well in trials – see our list of AGM fruit and veg.

What & where to buy

You can buy a wide choice of runner bean seeds in garden centres and from online retailers. Many also sell young plants in spring and early summer – ideal if you only want to grow a few or don’t have space indoors to grow them from seed yourself.

Recommended Varieties

Showing 3 out of 5 varieties

3

Preparing the Ground

Choosing

Sowing

Guide Start

Section 3 of 8

Runner beans like a sunny, sheltered position. Weed the ground thoroughly, then fork in lots of well-rotted manure or garden compost – at least two bucketfuls per square metre/yard. Ideally do this a few weeks ahead of sowing or planting out, to allow time for the ground to settle, or even better, the previous autumn if you’ve planned out your growing site early enough.  
 
A pH of 6.5 (slightly acid) is preferable for a good crop, so add lime if your soil is more acidic.

4

Sowing

Preparing the Ground

Plant Care

Guide Start

Section 4 of 8

Runner beans are tender plants that won’t survive frost, so for an early crop sow seeds indoors in late spring. Indoor sowing is also best in colder locations. Seeds can be sow outdoors from early to mid-summer, or you can buy young plants ready for planting out after the last frost. Choose a sunny, sheltered location for your beans, and prepare the ground by adding organic matter and putting up supports before sowing outdoors or planting out.

Putting up supports

Climbing beans need tall supports to twine up, which are best put in place before sowing or planting.  
 
The traditional method is to grow them along a double row of bamboo canes, 2.5m (8ft) tall, with 45–60cm (18in–2ft) between the two rows. Space the canes 15–30cm (6–12in) apart within each row and slope them inwards, then tie each pair near the top to a horizontal cane, to form a sturdy A-frame. If growing more than one double row, allow at least 1.5m (5ft) between them.
 

Alternatively, create an X-frame by sloping the canes at a sharper angle so they cross in the middle. Tie them at the centre, and add a horizontal cane to link them all together and increase stability. An X-frame takes up more space, but picking is easier as the beans are within reach and cropping is usually better.
 
If you don’t have room for a double row of canes, you can make a wigwam. Again, use 2.5m (8ft) canes, four or five per wigwam, spacing them 15–30cm (6–12in) apart at the base. Tie the tops of the canes together. Wigwams make an attractive feature in a border or patio container, as well as on the veg plot.
 
With dwarf beans, you can insert short twiggy sticks between the plants to keep them upright and lift the pods off the soil.

Sowing indoors

From mid-April to May, start runner beans off indoors on a sunny windowsill, in a propagator or in a greenhouse. This will give you an earlier crop than sowing outdoors.  
 
Use small pots or trays of deep modules and fill with moist multi-purpose compost. Sow one bean into the centre, 5cm (2in) deep, and water well.
 
Keep in a warm, bright place, at over 12°C (54°F). Seedlings will grow rapidly and need watering regularly.
 
The young plants can be moved outside once all risk of frost has passed, usually in late May or early June – see Planting out, below.

Related RHS Guides
Seed: sowing indoors

Sowing outdoors – in the ground

Seeds need warm conditions to germinate, so wait until all risk of frost has passed and your soil has reached 12°C (54°F) – usually by mid-May in the south of the UK, and two weeks later in the north.  
 
Before sowing, prepare your site well and put supports in place – see details above. If your soil is heavy and wet, warm the ground in early spring by covering with clear plastic or cloches for about four weeks ahead of sowing.
 
Then sow the large seeds individually 5cm (2in) deep – two at the base of each bamboo cane. Once they germinate, thin to one seedling per cane, and protect from slugs and snails.
 
When sowing dwarf runner beans, allow 30cm (1ft) between plants and 50cm (20in) between rows.

Related RHS Guides
Seed: sowing outdoors

Sowing outdoors – in containers

You can sow seeds outdoors into pots of multi-purpose compost in spring – either into small pots for transplanting into the ground later, or into large containers as their final growing site.
 
Sow one bean per small pot, 5cm (2in) deep, and place in a cold frame or sheltered spot. Once the plants reach 8cm (3in) tall, in June or July, plant them into their final positions – see Planting out, below.
 
Alternatively, sow into a large container as their final growing site. For dwarf beans the container should be 30–45cm (12–18in) wide, and for climbing beans 75cm (30in) wide, 45cm (18in) deep and heavy enough to keep it from toppling over once the climbing beans are at the top of their supports.
 
For climbing beans, insert a wigwam of 2.5m (8ft) canes (see Putting up supports, above) before sowing.  
 
Then simply sow the seeds into the container of potting compost, 5cm (2in) deep and 15cm (6in) apart. With climbing beans, you can sow two seeds at the base of each cane, then thin out to leave the strongest seedling.

Related RHS Guides
Vegetables in containers

Planting out

Wait until after the last frost before planting indoor-raised or bought young plants outside. Harden off to acclimatise them to outdoor conditions for a couple of weeks, either by putting them in a cold frame or placing them in a warm, sheltered spot, covered with fleece.
 
Make sure your planting site is ready – see Preparing the ground and Putting up supports above.
 
If planting in a container, choose multi-purpose or loam-based compost. Containers should be at least 75cm (30in) wide and 45cm (18in) deep for climbing beans, and 30–45cm (12–18in) wide for dwarf beans.
 
Plant one climbing bean at the base of each bamboo cane and water well. Loosely tie the stems to the canes to get them started.
 
When planting dwarf beans, space plants 30cm (1ft) apart.

Related RHS Guides
Vegetables: transplanting

5

Plant Care

Sowing

Pruning and Training

Guide Start

Section 5 of 8

Watering

Beans are thirsty plants and crop best when watered regularly, especially once they start to flower and form pods. Regular and generous watering is particularly important for plants growing in containers, which dry out quickly.

Mulching

Spread a mulch of well-rotted manure or mushroom compost around plants in July to help hold moisture in the soil.

Top tip

Why add mulch? An organic mulch, such as garden compost or well-rooted manure, is a great way to add nutrients and valuable micro-organisms to your soil. It also holds in moisture and deters weeds.

Weeding

Keep the growing site weed-free. Consider planting through weed-suppressing membrane – this reduces the need for weeding and prevents the pods of dwarf beans being damaged by contact with the soil.

Encouraging pods to form

Runner bean flowers sometimes fail to ‘set’ (produce pods) – there are several possible causes and solutions:

Related RHS Guides
Runner beans: failure to set pods

6

Pruning and Training

Plant Care

Harvesting

Guide Start

Section 6 of 8

Once climbing beans reach the top of their supports, cut off any extra growth. This should encourage side-shoots lower down, keep the crop within reach and help to stop plants becoming top-heavy.
 
Tie in any stems that come loose from the canes.

7

Harvesting

Pruning and Training

Problems

Guide Start

Section 7 of 8

Cropping starts around mid-summer, depending on the variety and when the seeds were sown, and continues for eight weeks or more if harvested regularly.
 
Pick pods when young, tender and stringless, about 15–20cm (6–8in) long. The pods should snap easily and the beans inside should still be small and pale in colour.
 
Regular harvesting – ideally every two to three days – is essential to prevent any pods reaching maturity. Once this happens, plants will stop flowering and no more pods will form.

8

Problems

Harvesting

Guide Start

Section 8 of 8

Runner beans are one of the easiest vegetables to grow, but they are tender, so must be kept indoors until after the last frost. If a late cold snap is forecast, cover your plants overnight with cloches or fleece.  
 
Seedlings and young plants are vulnerable to slugs and snails. Keep watch, too, for black aphids on the shoot tips and under leaves – squash them or wash them off with a jet from the hose before they get established.
 
These large, vigorous plants also need plenty of moisture to crop well, so water them regularly, especially during dry spells. Hot weather can also hinder cropping.
 
Occasionally, fungal or bacterial diseases such as rust or halo blight can develop, while in warm, dry conditions red spider mites can cause problems.  
 
The southern green shield bug is a relatively new pest found on runner beans and – although only in certain locations at present – is more serious than our native shield bugs, which do negligible harm to runner beans.

RHS Growing Guides

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