Scarlet Runner Beans Are Beautiful Plants and Beautiful Beans. You Could Be Growing Them!

Many of us think of beans simply as something that comes out of a can, either in green bean form or beans a la black, white, red, lima, and so on. Love them or hate them, buy them or grow them, they are something we are familiar with.

Beans for plant-based eaters are often a primary source of protein, a medium that can be molded into homemade burgers, tofu, and tempeh. There is also bean-and-rice, highly regarded as the combination to create a complete protein.

If we think of bean plants, we might picture something in a garden plot tickling up a trellis. But that’s selling them short. There are bush beans, vining beans, and even bean trees. Some, like scarlet runner beans, put out flowers so beautifully that they are grown as ornamentals.

But scarlet runner beans offer up a lot more than those signature red flowers.

Source: Work With Nature – How to Grow Food!/YouTube

The Plant Profile: Scarlet Runner Beans

Scarlet runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus) go by many names: fire bean, mammoth, red giant, and scarlet emperor. Most of these names are in tune with the clusters of flashy red flowers (great for hummingbirds) that the scarlet runner bean produces, as well as its ability to grow upwards of 20 feet in just one growing season.

Scarlet runner beans are so eye-catching that they are often grown for beauty rather than food, despite having several edible parts, including the beans. Amazingly, the seeds (beans) are as stunning as the plant. They are large (sometimes referred to as Oregon lima beans) and often multi-colored, some with pinkish speckles over dark shells.

Unlike many other vining beans, scarlet runner beans are perennial vines, though being native to Mexico and Central America, it does require a mild winter to survive (USDA Zone 10 and warmer).

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Scarlet Runner Beans as Food

It’s always a rewarding find when we stumble across a plant that is both highly regarded for its beauty and its edibility. Scarlet runner beans not only have both of these qualities, but in terms of food, they also have them several times over.

The actual beans on these plants are delightful and are often compared to lima beans. They can be picked and shelled fresh or dried for storage. The young bean pods, before the beans inside are fully formed, can also be used much like green beans.

But it doesn’t stop there. Those beautiful runner bean flowers are also edible, perfect for adding color to salads. They have a beany taste about them as well. The leaves can be used as pot herbs in stews, and the tuberous roots can be prepared as starchy vegetables, a Native American tradition.

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Growing Scarlet Runner Beans

Like most beans, scarlet runner beans perform best in warm weather and full sunlight. They like soil rich in organic matter (what plant doesn’t?), and the seeds should be spaced every three inches to avoid overcrowding.

In the colder climates, they’ll be grown like an annual, but in the warmest spots of the US, they may survive as perennials. Either way, they’ll need something to grow up, which they’ll happily do, twining around just about anything available.

From there, caring for them is mostly centered around making sure they don’t get eaten. They can be sprinkled with diatomaceous earth or sprayed regularly with a homemade, organic pest repellent.

Source: Learn Organic Gardening at GrowingYourGreens/YouTube

Where to Get Scarlet Runner Beans

Most vegetable seed catalogs will have scarlet runner beans in the collection. There are several different varieties, including scarlet and “scarlet runner” and “emperor scarlet”, but not all runner beans have the same red flowers and speckled beans. There are “white Dutch” runners and black runners and a popular creamy-colored Spanish variety called Judión de la Granja.

After acquiring runner beans, saving the seed is very simple, and that means scarlet runner beans from now on at no cost. Just let a handful of pods reach maturity and dry out on the vine. Then, keep them in a little envelope or jar as next year’s seeds. Why not share the love with friends and neighbors?

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