PlantFiles: Runner Bean
Phaseolus coccineus 'Painted Lady'

I originally started this bean from seed several years ago. I had no idea that it would form a tuber and return year after year (here in zone 9b). The vine does die completely back, but it resprouts from the tuber each Spring.

I have grown this bean for years on tripods in whiskey barrels. It is by far the most vigorous runner bean I have grown, and very decorative. It is very attractive to hummingbirds and grows extremely tall for me--some years over 15 feet. It does well in my short-season garden in the mountains, maturing very quickly. My only complaint about it is that it does not cling as tightly to the supports as some other varieties and sometimes slips down the poles. This problem can be avoided by using slender branches rather that fatter poles as supports.

We love this plant because we have to use somewhat unattractive fences to keep our big dogs out of the garden. Each spring I plant the beans and by mid-summer they cover the fences with greenery and beautiful flowers that hummingbirds visit. I collect more beans than I need in the Fall for next year's planting and make bean dishes from the dried beans. I didn't realize until looking them up on the internet that some people eat them green. They grow well in full, hot sunny areas in the Seattle area

This is a very decorative, well-behaved vine. My only disappointment with it, was not it's fault! lol...I was told it was pink and white, and it turned out to be peach and red. I do not like red...at all.
At any rate, is it worth growing for those of you who DO like red.
This variety was better at producing pods, than a nearby 'Sunset' runner bean...
-seedpicker_TX

This is the only runner bean with a bi-color blooms. Blooms are red and white. It does need support for climbing. Runner beans cross pollinate with other runner beans so need to be planted far apart.

A highly ornamental, heritage variety with bicolour flowers and cream coloured beans, streaked with deep brown markings (may also have been known as York and Lancaster). The full history of Painted Lady is unclear and it may have been grown as early as the mid 1600's in England but it was certainly a popular variety in England by the 1850s.

It's now relegated to being grown as a pretty screen by many vegetable growers because there are better performing varieties on the market. Even so it still produces a good crop of well flavoured beans and is much less vigourous than modern varieties making it a great variety for the smaller garden. It produces more than enough beans for us!

Pick the bean pods regularly to ensure a continuous crop throughout the late summer. Best picked at 6-8 inches long while the pod is relatively smooth, hairy runner bean pods aren't too palatable!