help needed with "Striped Bunch" pole bean

[poly]

I think I'll sow both again next year and see whether there is indeed some line segregation going on or whether they really are two distinctly different varieties with similar seeds that each breed pure, and have been mixed by accident. I'll pay more attention to flower colour, height, shape and length of pods etc. so I can then ask the people who offer them specifically about these things. So far, I agree with what you think - that the softer, round, short pods are probably the "real" striped bunch.

That sounds an interesting project for next year, looking forward to hearing how they grow out.

Phaseolus vulgaris doesn't cross all that easily. It is possible, but rare. I was given a mix of six very different varieties of dwarf french beans, with six different seed colours: black, white, yellow, red, brown and violet. The lady who gave me them has been growing them for decades in her garden, and she always sows them in the one and the same long row, all mixed up. As far as I can tell from growing them separately this year, no crossing has occurred at all. Each colour was uniform in height, pod shape etc, and all the seeds I harvested were the same original colour again. Fascinating.

I wonder if some varieties of beans are more likely to cross than others, as some tomatoes do, although this is usually because of exposed pistils? I grew Tennessee Greasy beans this year, which is a changing mix. Could be perhaps still segregating, outcrossing, with a gene for instability, or something else, I've no idea.

Tennessee Greasy: 70 days. A true mix. I've tried for over 10 years to segregate this. I've concluded that it is a true mixture. Seeds are various colors as well as having pods of various shapes and textures. Beans can be used both in the green snap stage and dried for soup. Ornamental and colorful.

Sand Hill Preservation Center: Beans (Snap, Shell, Soy, Lima and Miscellaneous types)

[nellie-m]

Poly, those beans of yours sound fascinating.

I talked to a lady the other day who does plant breeding for organic farms, beans among others, and her impression was that hot weather increases the likelihood of phaseolus beans crossing.

Any chance of getting a handful of your TGs? I can try and get whatever other bean (or tom or...) you might fancy from the archive for you in exchange. Or choose from what I grew this year - PM me for a list of varieties if you like.

[Guest]

Just wondered if anyone grew the VSP striped bunch again this year. I have just picked a few dry ones and most of mine are like the left of Nellies pic. However, I seem to have a rogue plant which gave a mauve flower (I had forgotten until now) but the pods and beans are twice the size with lighter markings. Some of the other seeds have the lighter markings aswell. I will have to pay more attention next year.

Also when growing, these plants done a funny which I haven't come across before. They grew and cropped like bush beans had a breather then climbed and cropped. Anyone come across this before?

[veggiechicken]

I grew some of these for the first time this year. They were in a planter against a wire trellis - sunny spot. They didn't want to climb at all, stayed small like dwarf beans. I waited and waited but they only reached a couple of feet. Big pods for the size of the plant but I was disappointed.
Whether the restricted roots affected their size, I dunno.
Sorry, but didn't pay much attention to the flower colour.

[lottie dolly]

never heard off them,but i can say that climbers i have started in modules,and then neglected to put in the ground,did climb and twine around themselfs ext,the small container did not hold them back,even when they DID reach the soil