Topic: lots of flowers, but no beans

[aquilegia]

My runner beans are producing a beautiful display of flowers, but no beans are setting.

I know this can be due to dryness, so have been watering them really well every evening.

There are loads of bees in my garden.

What else can I do to get them to set?

[GrannieAnnie]

Some pole beans are just slow that way but they eventually produce.
I've found that my Italian purple pole beans produce much earlier than
green pole beans and also can produce in a partial sun area. That's all
I grow now except for some Massai bush beans.

[PurpleHeather]

It is a matter of waiting. The flowers do hang around for a while compared to some other things. They used to be grown just for their pretty flowers at one time by our ancesters who took a little longer to discover the pleasure of the bean as a vegetable.

It seems longer too when we are waiting for them. In fact, they are a little early flowering this year due to our nice warm spell probably, it is usually towards the end of July when I get my first pick.

[aquilegia]

Oh thanks. I didn't realise it was early for runners to flower. I can't remember what happened last year and for several years before that the slugs got them all before they got do anything much!

[Jeannine]

A couple of things about your beans.

Spraying with water as we all used to do in not considered a benefit anymore, while it does cool the flowers somewhat  the bees prefer a dry flower to harvest and will avoid a soggy  one, so don't spray.

Another reason for no beans is often overlooked especially when there are lots of bees.

It could be the bees themselves!!

The shape of a bean flower makes it awkward for some of the bigger bees to get in to take the nectar so the bumblebees have learned that if they bite a hole in the base of the  flower, they can extract the nectar  from the outside which is quicker and easier, fine for them but in doing this they bypass the stamen and stigma so your beans don't get pollinated. Look closely at a few flowers and see if they look bitten, this could well be your answer.

Another thing, your beans like  damp roots, so give the roots a good spray, later in the season when roots are longer and stronger this won't be needed. This is another  reason why  pollination increases as the summer gets further along.

XX Jeannine

[Toadspawn]

Kidney (runner) bean flowers are in fact pollinated by bumble bees. They are heavy enough to force the petals apart to get at the pollen and nectar and in the process brush past the stamens and stigma. Honey bees are much lighter and cannot gain access through the front of the flower. It is they who have learnt to obtain the nectar by piercing the back of the flower. In doing this they bypass the stamens and the stigma so thus no pollination and therefore no beans.

[PurpleHeather]

WTF

Leave them alone, water them when you can and wait.

It is certainly not rocket science.

[Jeannine]

Quoting from:     The Behaviour of Bees visiting Runner Beans by JB Free.


Bumblebees have short tongues ,they raely enter the flowers but obtain nectar through holes they bite in the bases of the corolla tubes.

Honey bees also obtain nectar through these holes although they can't make them.

http://www.jstor.org/pss/2401637



Runner beans and kidney beans are not the same

Kidney beans are common beans phaseolus vulgaris(don't need bees)

Runner beans are phaseolus coccineus

What does WTF mean?

XX Jeannine

[Jeannine]

Someone kindly Pm me and explanied what WTF meant,  I didn't know as I am not used to hearing  that kind of language.

XX Jeannine

[Squash64]

I've just come back from an early morning visit to the lottie and noticed that, at last, I have some beans setting.
 
I'm growing 6 different varieties, they all have flowers but only Painted Lady have started to set.  They all get exactly the same watering so it must be just that some varieties set earlier than others.

Can't wait, I love beans....  :)

[aquilegia]

WTF

Leave them alone, water them when you can and wait.

It is certainly not rocket science.

OK... are we not allowed to ask questions on here anymore ???

[Jeannine]

You go ahead Hun, I shall still answer XX Jeannine

[valmarg]

Someone kindly Pm me and explanied what WTF meant,  I didn't know as I am not used to hearing  that kind of language.

XX Jeannine

I think, like me, you can guess Jeannine, but would rather not to have to.  Just not very nice.  In fact extremely coarse.  Nasty.

valmarg

[small]

Here's my twopenn'orth on the subject.....I spray the flowers briefly in the late evening (easy for me, garden plot not allotment). I get a good early set from the very first flowers on.  I don't know if these two facts are connected, I've always believed so though the latest thinking seems to be against me. Daren't stop now though, I love my runners!

[aquilegia]

You go ahead Hun, I shall still answer XX Jeannine

THanks Jeannine! x

I actually noticed a tiny little bean starting to form on one plant today! It's on the one my son sowed in March!  :o

[Jeannine]

Actually Valmarg, I didn't write that very well.I should have said Somebody DID pm me and told me what it meant. I didn't guess, well I tried, but couldn't get it, I don't think I expected anything like that.

XX Jeannine

[valmarg]

No, as I said, nasty. :(

valmarg

[betula]

Was out at 7.30 am and while on bean inspection noticed a very busy little Bee doing his thing.

Thanks little Bee,you made my day and I had only just got up  :)

[Squashman]

I have been picking Runner(Kidney) Beans for the last 10 days. I planted St. George as an early cropper, watered the plants in, not watered since. My follow on crop is painted lady, pods well fomed and will be ready before St george finish. My Polestar are also starting to pod up.   

[chriscross1966]

My first cropping of french beans (Speedies, and boy do they live up to the name) are nearly finished, I'm letting the rest of the pods they form dry in situ for seed next year. The Cobras have just started setting beans, and today I found some little beanlets on the Giganda's , that's it for benas at home). Quite a lot of lottie beans seem to have started setting, but they're all for shelling beans, so slightly less worried there. I do have some Speedies in the freezer to keep me going till the Cobras start up.... they're getting a fair watering twice a week ATM....

chrisc