Lima bean (butter bean)

Sun

Full sun, ideally at least 6-8 hours daily; choose a warm, sheltered position in cool climates.

Water

Keep soil evenly moist, especially during flowering and pod filling, but never waterlogged.

Soil

Well-drained, moderately fertile soil with a pH of about 6.0-7.0; avoid cold, wet ground.

Height

Bush forms: 1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m); climbing forms: 6-12 ft (1.8-3.7 m).

Spread

1-3 ft (0.3-0.9 m), depending on variety and support.

Flowers

Small white to pale lilac flowers in summer, followed by flattened pods.

Foliage

Green leaves divided into three broad, pointed leaflets.

Growth

Fast in warm weather; slow in cool soil.

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• Heat tolerant
• Low allergen
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   0.5 ft (0.15 m)

2. After 1 year

   1.5 ft (0.45 m)

   full size

Full size in one season.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Growth rate

Moderate

• Sow after frost danger has passed and soil has warmed to at least 65°F (18°C), preferably warmer.
• Install sturdy poles or trellis before sowing climbing varieties.
• Water at soil level during dry spells, keeping moisture steady as pods fill.
• Mulch once the soil is warm to conserve moisture and suppress weeds.
• Use modest amounts of compost; avoid heavy nitrogen feeding, which encourages leaves rather than beans.

Pruning. Routine pruning is unnecessary. Guide climbing shoots onto supports and remove badly diseased growth when the foliage is dry.

Pick pods for fresh shelling when they are plump and the seeds are full-sized but still tender, usually about 65-100 days after sowing for early bush varieties and longer for climbers; do not eat the pods. For dry beans, let pods turn brown and papery, then harvest before prolonged wet weather and finish drying under cover. Shell the beans and cook thoroughly before eating; never eat them raw.

Spring

Prepare a sunny bed with modest amounts of compost and put climbing supports in place.

Late spring

Sow outdoors after the last frost once soil is thoroughly warm; delay in cold or wet weather.

Early summer

Thin seedlings to the spacing recommended for the variety and guide climbing shoots onto supports.

Summer

Mulch warm soil and water regularly during flowering and pod filling.

Late summer

Pick plump pods regularly for fresh shelling, leaving selected pods to mature if dry beans are wanted.

Autumn

Harvest remaining mature pods before frost or persistent rain; dry beans fully before storage.

• Grow bush forms in orderly rows or blocks in a kitchen garden.
• Train climbing forms over a sturdy trellis along the sunny edge of a vegetable plot.
• Use a bean-covered tripod as a seasonal vertical feature in a potager.
• Combine with low-growing flowers around bed edges, leaving enough space for airflow and harvesting.

Garden styles it suits: Potager (kitchen garden), Edible landscape, Homestead, Cottage garden and Farmhouse.

Plant it with: Sweetcorn, Summer squash, Nasturtium and French marigold.

Wildlife: Flowers attract some bees, although the crop is largely self-pollinating. Rabbits and deer may browse the foliage.

• Seeds rot or fail to emerge in cold, wet soil: delay sowing until the ground is warm and improve drainage.
• Flowers drop without setting pods during extreme heat or drought: keep roots evenly moist and allow later flowers to set when conditions improve.
• Aphids cluster on tender shoots: wash off small colonies with water and encourage ladybirds and other predators.
• Bacterial blight causes spotted leaves and damaged pods: use clean seed, avoid handling wet plants, rotate crops and remove infected debris.

Raw seeds and other uncooked plant parts can contain cyanogenic compounds that release cyanide and may seriously poison people, cats, dogs and horses. Keep pets and livestock away from plants, raw beans and discarded material. Eat only properly prepared seeds from food varieties: soak dried beans, discard the soaking water, then boil in fresh water and cook fully according to reliable food-safety instructions; do not cook raw dried beans solely in a slow cooker.

• Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)

  Leaves can look very similar, but lima beans typically have broad, flattened pods and flattened, often crescent-shaped seeds. Common bean pods are more variable and often longer and narrower.

• Runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus)

  Runner beans usually have larger, showier red or white flowers and long, rough-textured pods; lima beans have smaller flowers and shorter, broader pods.

Lima refers to Lima, Peru, while the botanical epithet lunatus means crescent-shaped, describing the seeds.

Propagation. Grow from seed, usually sown directly into warm soil. In short-season areas, start individual seeds in deep pots under warm conditions about 2-3 weeks before planting out, then transplant gently after frost without disturbing the roots.

Accepted botanical name

Phaseolus lunatus

In the US and Canada

Introduced in the lower 48 states, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands.

Native range

Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexican Pacific Is., Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest and Mexico Southeast.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.