Last edited on November 01, 2026. View history
Scarlet Runner Bean
Scarlet Runner Bean
A variety of bean
A runner with vines to 3 m and bright scarlet flowers. Eaten green, shelled or dried. Huge violet-purple seeds mottled with black.
- 0
- plantings
- 0
- harvests
- 0
- seed packets
Scarlet runner bean facts
Lifespan
Crop cycle
Max altitude
Optimal light
What are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For scarlet runner bean, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 5°C and a shortest growing cycle of 80 days at its best temperature, about 1120 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your scarlet runner bean will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
Growing scarlet runner beans
- Dig the bed and add compost 1 week before sowing
- Put up supports for climbing beans 1 week after sowing
- Water regularly at sowing every week
- Weed carefully 3 weeks after sowing every 2 weeks
- Pick beans regularly at first harvest every week
- Leave some pods to dry for seed 6 weeks after first harvest
- Pull out finished plants and dig in the roots 8 weeks after first harvest
Video
What people are saying about scarlet runner beans
Nobody has posted about scarlet runner beans yet.
Sign in or sign up to post your tips and experiences growing scarlet runner beans.
Who's planted scarlet runner beans
Nobody has planted this crop yet.
Sign in or sign up to track your scarlet runner bean plantings.Scarlet runner bean harvests
Nobody has harvested this crop yet.
Sign in or sign up to track your scarlet runner bean harvests.Find scarlet runner bean seeds
There are no seeds available to trade on Growstuff right now.
- Purchase seeds via Ebay
- Sign in or sign up to list your seeds to trade.
Time to harvest
If sown now, expect a first harvest in about 80 to 365 days.
From the growing cycle in the FAO EcoCrop database, which is the same wherever it is grown.
Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Phaseolus coccineus L.
| Family / Taxonomy | Magnoliopsida Rosidae Fabales Leguminosae |
|---|---|
| Life form | herb |
| Life span | annual, perennial |
| Habit | climber/scrambler/scadent |
| Optimal soil depth | medium (50-150 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | medium |
| Optimal soil fertility | high |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
| Photoperiod | short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours) |
Learn more about scarlet runner beans
Resources outside Growstuff.
