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Has anyone ever grown these beans before?
I have some beautiful healthy plants, they have reached the top of the bean poles......but no flowers at all ???
I can't understand why - all the other beans - Blauhilde, Cobra, Borlotti and runners are all in flower.
Are they the sort of bean that grows and grows then produces flowers - or am I just growing  bean leaves!

mine haven't flowered yet. The Cobra beans have just started flowering, with a mass of flowers and not many leaves.......

Mine not flowering yet.. This is the first year the slugs have not eaten them.  Planted a bit late, hoped that the warmer weather would make them feel more at home. 

Some of my beans got very yellow leaves, so I gave them some miracle grow to perk them up.  Well they perked up, but now have gone into production and are producing an entire jungle of leaves, but very very very few beans. 

Many of the older "climbers" don't produce flowers until they run out of "climbing" space...  :-\

Quotethey run out of "climbing" space... 

Does it help to pick out the tops.

Thanks - so I will water and wait and hope that they will produce flowers in the end.
Presuming that I will get some beans - what are they like? Are they better eaten fresh or left to dry?

I have been hoping they are a yellow romano style flat fresh eating bean.

Sounds good - will let you know when I manage to pick some ;D
Its raining now so perhaps that will spur them on !!!!

Patience has been rewarded - there are pretty little purple flowers on them now!

I've been picking these for two weeks now.  Oddly, the two yellow beans I have - Meraviglia di Venezia and Neckargold - are the first of any of my french or runner beans to crop.

Ceres, mine are the opposite- the runners, Cobra and Blauhilde now cropping!

Quote from: Tin Shed on August 03, 2009, 13:20:21
Patience has been rewarded - there are pretty little purple flowers on them now!

my flowers are yellow-white

Oh dear - perhaps I will have another look and they are flowers from the other beans next to them!! What colour are everyone elses bean flowers?

My Meraviglia are the same as RT's, white and a creamy yellow.

Well they can't be MdV as the bean flowers are definitely purple and white and they have little green beans.
I am sure they will be delicious  - I will try again next year :D

Just bumping this up as I picked some of the beans [from a very poor crop] to use as beans for beans on toast. The young green beans became flat and yellow in the end.
The young yellow beans were green inside, the slightly older beans which are reddish pods have light blue beans inside and the darker mottled red beans, which look more like borlotti beans have very dark blue black beans.
They will certainly look colourful on the plate, but if they are not Merveille de Venise, what are they?

well I'd persevere with it. I liked it a lot. Cropped well once it started, Nice crisp taste, if a little squeaky

I can give you some proper seed if you want (ie not saved)

On your recommendation, RT, I will give them another go - and yes please, I would love a few seeds to try again for next year :)
I will PM you.