Christmas Lima Pole (Butter) Bean

Be sure to check out our Beans Growing Guide for more tips & tricks on successfully growing beans. 

Christmas Lima Pole Bean, also known as a Climbing Butter Bean, is a trellised lima bean variety with an heirloom appearance and great flavor. Prolific vines provide great extensive trellis cover and a heavy yield of large beans. Plants perform well in a wide variety of climate and soil conditions and are especially heat-tolerant. They work well for a spring or fall harvest. These beans have a nuttier flavor than traditional lima beans and are a great addition to soups. They are easy to shell and taste excellent when prepared fresh. Christmas Lima Pole Bean retains its flavor when preserved through canning or freezing. They may also be allowed to mature on the vine and used as a dried beans. Once dried, beans have a mottled appearance with dark red and white colors.

Our Hortonova Trellis Netting works great for trellising pole beans. Unlike bush beans which will stop producing after several harvests, pole beans will grow from spring until the first frost in fall or winter. During the heat of summer, beans may stop production and drop blooms. But production will resume once temperatures begin to cool in early fall.

Beans should be planted in spring after the last frost has occurred. Beans will germinate best once soil temps have reached 65 F or higher. The optimal germination temperature is around 77 F. Seeds can require 8 to 16 days to germinate, depending on the soil temperature. Direct seeding is recommended. Beans should be planted relatively thick along the row and thinned to the desired spacing. Consider planting pole beans on both sides of the trellis to maximize the potential of the trellised area.

Christmas Lima Pole (Climbing Butter) Bean Planting Information

Planting Method: direct sow

When to Plant: after last frost

Planting Depth: 1"

Seed Spacing: 3-4"

Row Spacing: 3'

Days to Maturity: 50

Disease Resistance: None