Runner Bean 'Scarlet Emperor'

This is a beautiful twining ornamental and a tasty productive vegetable. Blooms are reddish orange and not really scarlet, and they attra...Read Morect hummingbirds. They also make a good cut flowers.

If you keep the pods well picked, it will continue to bloom for months. (Flowering stops if pods are allowed to mature on the vine.) Blooming may pause in heat of summer if temperatures are often over 90F, then continue when it cools.

Consistent moisture is needed for good bean production. In drought, these must not be allowed to dry out.

I enjoy the pods steamed or boiled, with a little butter. All parts of the plant is edible, including the roots.

All beans contain lectins, which can cause GI distress. Runner beans are no more toxic than any other bean. Cooking destroys the lectins.

As with any bean, wait till the soil is warm before direct sowing, as they can rot in cold soil. I use the traditional phenology for planting corn---plant when the oak leaves are the size of a squirrel's ear.

This is a perennial where it's hardy, but usually grown as an annual north of its hardiness range. The Missouri Botanical garden says it's hardy in Z7-11.

From your friends at Botanical Interests: With the exception of the Hyacinth Bean, this is the prettiest bean vine you can grow. The lar...Read Morege sprays of brilliant rich red flowers contrast against the deep green foliage. You can grow it for its beautiful flowers and to eat its sweet bean pods. This variety is commonly used as a flowering screen, vine, or fence cover. But, don’t forget to try eating the “beany” sweet bean pods when they appear. You can shell them for green or dried beans when pods mature.

A 12 - 15 inch runner bean