Planting guide

When to plant climbing bean

Tall, heavy-cropping vines that use vertical space and keep giving for months. In Melbourne it goes in Oct–Mar.

Start as: Seed, sown in place
Ready in: 9–13 wks
Spacing: 15 cm
Depth: 3 cm
Sun: Full sun (6+ hours)
Water: Regular
Effort: Easy
Frost-tender: Yes, plant after the last frost

When it goes in

● means climbing bean can go in that month, ○ means wait. Worked out from each town's climate zone and season, the way planting guides do it. Pick your town for the full list for that month.

Australian towns and cities
Town	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sydney	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Melbourne	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Brisbane	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	●
Perth	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Adelaide	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Gold Coast	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Newcastle	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Sunshine Coast	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	●
Canberra	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●
Central Coast	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Geelong	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Wollongong	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Hobart	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●
Townsville	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	●
Cairns	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Toowoomba	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Darwin	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Ballarat	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●
Mandurah	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Bendigo	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Launceston	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●
Mackay	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	●
Rockhampton	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	●
Coffs Harbour	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Blue Mountains	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●
Bunbury	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Bundaberg	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	●
Alice Springs	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Mildura	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Port Macquarie	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●

Around the world
Town	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Auckland	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Wellington	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Christchurch	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●
London	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Manchester	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Edinburgh	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Dublin	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
New York City	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Los Angeles	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	●	●	○	○	○
Chicago	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Seattle	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Austin	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	●	●	○	○	○
Toronto	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Vancouver	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Cape Town	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Johannesburg	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Singapore	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Mumbai	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Paris	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Berlin	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○

How to plant climbing bean

Put up a teepee or trellis first.
Sow seed 3 cm deep at the base of each support.
Water well and mulch.
Pick often; pods left to mature stop the plant cropping.

Climbing Bean varieties

Classic varieties are the reliable, widely grown ones. Adventurous ones are heirlooms, odd colours and rarities.

Purple King Classicclimbing · colourful · 9–11 wksPurple pods on heavy-bearing vines
Blue Lake Classicclimbing · heavy-cropper · 9–11 wksStringless, tender climbing bean; the market-garden standard
Scarlet Runner Classicclimbing · heirloom · colourful · 10–13 wksBright red flowers, big pods, hummingbird magnet
Kentucky Wonder Classicclimbing · heirloom · heavy-cropper · 9–11 wksOld-time heavy cropper; picks over months
Red Noodle Adventurousclimbing · heat-tolerant · colourful · 9–12 wksSnake bean with 40 cm pods; thrives in heat
Giant of Stuttgart Adventurousclimbing · heirloom · giant · 10–13 wksFlat broad pods and big yields
Rattlesnake Adventurousclimbing · heirloom · colourful · 9–11 wksPurple-streaked pods on rampant vines

Where to buy seeds

Search on The Diggers Club Search on Seeds of Plenty Search on Happy Valley Seeds Search on Amazon

Shop links may earn us a commission. It never changes what we recommend.

Shops shown are for Australia. The chooser picks shops for your country.

Good companions

Corn, Cucumber, Marigold

Climbing Bean by month

Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov · Dec

More to plant

Dwarf Green Bean · Edamame · Pea · Broad Bean · Peanut · Shelling bean

Not sure climbing bean is right for your space? Answer a few taps and see everything that can go in this week.

Find what else you can plant now