GardenAnnual Legume · 33 varieties
Pole Bean
Phaseolus vulgaris
Fabaceae — the same plant family as bush bean, pea, cowpea, lima bean and 9 more here. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.
Pole Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is an annual legume. It wants full sun and pH 5.8–6.5 soil, with about 1 in of water weekly. It matures in about 60–110 days from sowing. Watch for mexican bean beetle and bacterial blight. Below: its full sourced profile from 8 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.
Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. This calendar assumes the crop is direct sown. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow.
What we will not put a number on
We do not give a feeding rate for this crop, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. The figures published by extension services are pounds of nitrogen per acre for a production field — they do not convert safely to a raised bed or a pot without knowing your soil test and your fertilizer's analysis, and guessing errs toward burning roots. It is also why every chart you find online disagrees with the next one.
We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.
Site & soil
- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 5.8–6.5
- Soil texture
- Loam, Well drained
- Frost tolerance
- Tender
- Suffers in days above
- 90–95 °F
No published figure for the temperature frost starts to hurt it, the temperature that would kill it and a warm-night limit. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.
The plant
- Mature height
- 6–8 ft
- Growth rate
- Fastest
- Spacing in row
- 4–8 in
- Between rows
- 24–36 in
- Planting depth
- 1 in
- Container size
- 4–6 gal — low end is the minimum, high end is better
- Support
- Needs staking or a trellis
- Grown from
- Direct sow
There is no line here for how wide one plant gets, because we have no figure to put there. We went looking and wrote down what we read — it is missing on purpose, not because nobody checked.
Water & feeding
- Water needs
- Moderate
- Water per week
- 1 in/wk
- Critical water
- Flowering, Pod fill
- Feeding
- Low
Timing & fruiting
- Days to maturity
- 60–110 days from seed
- Harvest cues
- Pods tender snap stage
Planted again for autumn
- South Carolina — Piedmont
- Jul 20 – Aug 1
- South Carolina — Coastal Plain
- Aug 1 – Sep 1
Published by the extension service for its own regions, and quoted here for those regions only — converting them would mean assuming a frost date somewhere else. The chart says when, not whether to sow seed or set out plants, so we do not either. Only South Carolina so far.
- Sow by
- late Aug typical · zone 6b
60 days to maturity from sowing, counted back from the first frost above. Not published for anywhere in particular: it is your own frost date and this crop's own figure, which is why it works wherever you are. A days-to-maturity figure is a catalog number for a good season rather than a promise, and a cold month moves it.
Edible parts per source: fruit, seed.
Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.
Chart canon says no. Nobody's proven why. Cheap to respect.
The most consistent 'no' in companion planting. Unproven, unanimous.
Companion pairings from university extensions; badge = how strong the evidence is.
Different parts differ — the edible part is the fruit and seed; the notes below flag other parts or preparations.
PeopleToxic raw seeds
Recorded exactly as the source states it — not medical or veterinary advice. If a person or animal may have eaten a toxic part, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) or your vet / the ASPCA line (888-426-4435).
Open one and add it to your garden — it lights up here. The rest of the 33 are in the full list below.
| Variety | Type | Habit | Days | Color | Disease | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algarve | Romano | Pole | 50–60 | Green | BEAN_COMMON_MOSAIC_VIRUS | Seeds Heirloom describes this asno strings · takes the heat |
| Aunt Ada's Italian Heirloom | Romano | Pole | 55–60 | Green | ||
| Blauhilde Heirloom | Snap | Pole | 65 | Purple | ||
| Blue Coco Heirloom | Snap | Pole | 72 | Purple | ||
| Blue Lake Heirloom | Snap | Pole | 66 | Green | BEAN_COMMON_MOSAIC_VIRUS | Botanical Interests describes this asno strings |
| Carminat | Snap | Pole | 62 | Purple | ||
| Case Knife Heirloom | Dry | Pole | 100 | Green | Heritage Harvest Seed describes this askeeps a long time after picking | |
| Cherokee Trail of Tears Bean Heirloom | Dry | Pole | 85 | Green, Purple | Annie's Heirloom Seeds describes this askeeps a long time after picking | |
| Cobra | Snap | Pole | 55 | Green | ||
| Emerite | Snap | Pole | 55 | Green | Territorial Seed Company describes this asno strings | |
| Fortex | Snap | Pole | 60 | Green | ||
| Garden of Eden Heirloom | Romano | Pole | 65 | Green | ||
| Genuine Cornfield Heirloom | Snap | Pole | 70 | Green | ||
| Gita Yardlong | Yardlong | Pole | 78 | Green | ||
| Golden Gate | Romano | Pole | 60 | Yellow | ||
| Grandma Nellie's Yellow Mushroom Heirloom | Snap | Pole | 55 | Green | ||
| Helda | Romano | Pole | 60 | Green | Territorial Seed Company describes this asno strings | |
| Ideal Market Heirloom | Snap | Pole | 65–70 | Green | Firefly Farm & Mercantile describes this asno strings | |
| Kentucky Blue | Snap | Pole | 62 | Green | Pinetree Garden Seeds describes this asno strings | |
| Kentucky Wonder Heirloom | Snap | Pole | 68 | Green | ||
| Marvel of Venice Heirloom | Romano | Pole | 54 | Yellow | ||
| Mayflower Heirloom | Dry | Pole | 100 | |||
| Monte Gusto | Snap | Pole | 58 | Yellow | Pinetree Garden Seeds describes this asno strings | |
| Musica | Romano | Pole | 67 | Green | ||
| Northeaster | Romano | Pole | 55 | Green | ||
| Purple Podded Heirloom | Snap | Pole | 70–75 | Purple | Annie's Heirloom Seeds describes this asno strings · an unusual color | |
| Rattlesnake Heirloom | Snap | Pole | 70 | Green, Purple | ||
| Red Noodle Yard Long Bean Heirloom | Yardlong | Pole | 90 | Red | Fedco Seeds describes this asno strings · an unusual color | |
| Seychelles | Snap | Pole | 55 | Green | ||
| Sultan's Golden Crescent Heirloom | Snap | Pole | 75 | Yellow | Nana's Naturals Heritage Seed Bank describes this asno strings · an unusual color | |
| Trionfo Violetto Heirloom | Snap | Pole | 70 | Purple | ||
| True Red Cranberry Heirloom | Dry | Pole | 102 | |||
| Turkey Craw Heirloom | Snap | Pole | 70 | Sow True Seed describes this asno strings |
- Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center
- NC State Extension
- Purdue Extension
- University of Maryland Extension
- University of Minnesota Extension
- Utah State University Extension
We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 18 of the 19 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.
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