Phaseolus lunatus (95 days) Open-pollinated. Pole type. Searching for a pole lima that will actually ripen in the Northeast? We’ve picked a beauty! Vigorous vines produce large 4" pods with 3 huge flat beans, white with a splotch of punctate mulberry-purple speckles that turn burgundy as beans dry. Delicious!—tender, sweet and delightfully beany, nothing like the frozen or canned limas you were forced to eat as a kid. Through multiple trial years they have yielded well, even through long stretches of drought and high heat. Bred by Mrs. Winfield of Painted Post, NY, in the early 1940s and introduced to the seed trade in 1953 by the Billy Hepler Seed Company, which Hepler started at age 12 with help from his father. After his father died in 1962, Hepler’s inventory was sold to Farmer Seed & Nursery Company of Fairbault, MN, which sold the bean as North Pole Lima in its 1965 catalog. ① BACK!
Items shipping from our garden seeds warehouse take 1–3 business days to process.
Originally from Peru where they were cultivated 4,000 years ago by the Lima culture.
Culture: Lima beans require more heat than bush beans and are indifferent performers in cold wet summers. Minimum soil temperature 60°, optimal range 70–85°. Tender, will not survive frost. Plant 3–4 seeds/ft in rows 24–30" apart. Plant as other bush or pole beans. Bush limas can be prone to twining (developing viny tendrils). Harvest at shelling stage when beans bulge in fading pliable pods, before pods start to dry out. Pick frequently for maximum yields, but avoid disturbing foliage in wet weather to prevent spread of fungal diseases.
Beans
All beans are open-pollinated.
Days to maturity are from seeding date.
Culture: Tender, will not survive frost. Inoculate with a legume inoculant, then plant seeds 3–4" apart in rows 24–30" apart after all danger of frost has passed and soil has warmed. Minimum germination soil temperature 60°; optimal range 70–80°. White-seeded beans are generally more sensitive to cold soil temps than dark-seeded varieties. Legumes have moderate fertility needs and can fix their own nitrogen.
Saving Seed: Saving bean seed is easy! Leave pods on the plants to dry. Hand shell, or stomp pods on a tarp. To ensure true-to-type seed, separate varieties by 30 feet.
Diseases:
ANTH: Anthracnose
BBS: Bacterial Brown Spot
CBMV: Common Bean Mosaic Virus
CTV: Curly Top Virus
DM: Downy Mildew
HB: Halo Blight
NY 15: NY 15 Mosaic Virus
PM: Powdery Mildew
PMV: Pod Mottle Virus
R: Rust
SC: Sclerotina
White mold, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, affects more than 300 plant species. In beans, low humidity, good air circulation and wider spacing, both between plants and between rows, reduce the likelihood of this soil-borne infection.
Germination Testing
For the latest results of our germination tests, please see the germination page.
Our Seeds are Non-GMO
All of our seeds are non-GMO, and free of neonicotinoids and fungicides. Fedco is one of the original companies to sign the Safe Seed Pledge.
This item is sustainably grown