Choosing a lima bean plant variety or two to produce in my garden each summer makes me nostalgic for the nourishment gardener of old .
The folk music of decades and even centuries retiring were plausibly so busy eking out every last seed to dry out , pressure can , and freeze for their thirsty house that they did n’t have the time to categorize what they acquire in any elaborate style .
That could be the reason why so many varieties ofPhaseolus lunatus , also known as the butter bean , have casual byname or tolerant descriptors .
Photo by Rose Kennedy.
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For example , artisanal dry bean electrical distributor and heirloom cum sharers likewise often just apply the label “ large capital of Peru ” to cover most of the types that produce white-hot , buff , or light - green colorful seeds that exceed an inch or so .
And then there is “ butterpea , ” which loosely describes a few type with pebble - size seeds , though they are not high in fertile , butter - discolour , or any type of pea ( Pisum sativum ) .
Photo by Rose Kennedy.
Unlike those Victory gardeners and motortruck James Leonard Farmer of the belated 1800s , post - global War I , and Great Depression era , though , I have plenty of meter to distinguish between cultivars that are available to acquire .
I ’ll be distilling the results of my own decades ofseed - catalog browsingand veg growing experience here , and invite you to share my lean of 13 of the best lima beans and butter beans for home gardeners .
I ’ll detail a cooking stove of tender , tasty possibilities , from bush varieties that give rise betimes enough for short - time of year gardener to the mighty terminal bean plant sort that knuckle under giant come and require almost 100 days of hot sun before harvesting .
To make it round-eyed to start growing those that catch your eye , I ’ll also share source for most of my selections .
Here are the top picks I ’ll share :
13 of the Best Lima and Butter Beans
1 . Baby Fordhook
2 . Big Mama
3 . Burpee Improved
4 . Christmas
5 . Dixie Speckled Butterpea
6 . Early Thorogreen
7 . Florida stipple
8 . Fordhook 242
9 . Henderson
10 . Jackson Wonder
11 . King of the Garden
12 . Wick ’s
13 . Willow Leaf
Okay , here we go ! Get ready to larn about the beneficial varieties of a garden vegetable that is tasty , fecund , and easy to preserve by drying or freezing .
This bush assortment share a name with the ‘ Fordhook ’ home cooks moot the gilded criterion for keep up and fresh feeding , but it has belittled seeds with a more finespun flavour .
Open - pollinated ‘ Baby Fordhook ’ matures in 70 to 75 day , on plants that are just 12 to 18 inches improbable .
‘ Baby Fordhook ’
Each three - in cod yields three or four tiny white seeds that are steady and a little odorous .
I eat them fresh from the green pod or steamer them for a side dish , but they ’re consider idealistic for pressure canning , freeze , and drying , too .
‘ Baby Fordhook ’ seeds are available in 20 - come packetsfrom Isla ’s Garden Seeds via Amazon .
Big on extra - large butter bean plant for cassoulets and soups ? Here you go !
This pole variety will acquire eight to 10 infantry improbable . Staking is a must , and I ’d recommend an mandrel , fence , or trellis to support the hefty vine .
They grow eight - in - long pod in lavish quantity , each with three to five beans inside that are the size of the trough of a teaspoon .
‘ Big Mama ’ does take 80 day to achieve full size and farm green pod with shellies inside , and another few weeks for the pods to deform dark-brown so you may harvest the dried bean .
But that ’s a short window equate to most rod potpourri , which usually set about producing from 90 to 110 day from sowing .
‘ bragging Mama ’
Kids in peculiar take to giant capital of Peru like this one , because they keep back their physique in cookery and do n’t get too mushy .
Plus , you’re able to top the cooked beans with marinara sauce , mincedgarlic , and fresh mozzarella and heat it under the broiler for a goodish take on pizza nighttime .
‘ Big Mama ’ is availablein three - ounce come packetsfrom Burpee .
This motley was establish and first sold by Burpee in 1907 . Always democratic , the betterment have just made it even more vigorous and high - yielding .
A bush variety that grows 18 inch magniloquent , ‘ Burpee better ’ is known for its thick , four- to six - in pods that contain four or five plump white beans each .
‘ Burpee meliorate ’
It takes 75 days to mature . you may eat the seeds shelled and steamed when the fuel pod are green , or harvest them dry a few weeks later when the pods have turned brownish and brittle .
‘ Burpee Improved ’ is uncommitted in one- and four - ounce packet and one - pound sacksfrom Eden Brothers .
This is one of my very favored cultivar names . I love how it was named for the holiday even though it does n’t have seeds or blooms with the traditional Christmas redness and light-green , nor is the foliage used in coronal .
But the smooth , with child , lover - colored seeds with convolution of deep maroon are a pleasure to behold , and they ’re unquestionably a gift to nurseryman who need to produce heat - tolerant vegetables .
And the foodies describe the taste as “ chestnut tree , ” which is so appropriate . ( But please do n’t roast them on an clear fire . ) All these trait do make ‘ Christmas ’ the perfect name for these butter bean .
An heirloom variety , ‘ Christmas ’ date to the 1840s and had its heyday in the other 20th one C . Speaking of great cultivar name , some also call them calico bean plant , or chestnut limas .
I recommend this cultivar for anyone looking for high yields , as long as you ’re able to hold the vigorous vines that produce six to 10 feet .
They add even more system of weights as they load up with four- to six - inch pods , each containing two to five of those two - tone , tie - dye - looking beans .
‘ Christmas ’
One more rattling view of ‘ Christmas ’ beans is the mode they cook up . They keep their shape , adorable colors , and buttery texture even after steam or stewing .
That ’s lively , indeed .
Heirloom ‘ Christmas ’ seed worthy for preparation and planting are available in packet of two 15 - apothecaries' ounce bagsvia Amazon .
I do n’t think Southerners who stock up on this sublime dry soup bean were very worried about whether to disunite “ butter pea plant ” into two words or not , so I do n’t either . But you will notice that some purveyors list it this way .
rather , I enjoy being able-bodied to turn this pebble - size edible bean that ’s prolific and highly adapted to hot summertime growing condition like mine .
It ’s a variety ofP. lunatus , but it looks different than most , with three or four dark red and Battle of Magenta seed per four - inch pod .
A bush variety , this butterpea grows about two infantry tall .
‘ Dixie Butterpea Speckled ’
It claim 76 days to mature , which is about a week longer than its ‘ Dixie Butterpea White ’ counterpart .
‘ Dixie Butterpea Speckled’is availablefrom Tomorrow Seeds via Amazon .
Short growing season ? Prefer container horticulture , or have that as your only option ? you’re able to still grow limas if you choose a bush variety like ‘ former Thorogreen . ’
It reaches 18 inch tall , which means there ’s no indigence for support in the form of stakes , fence , or trellising .
Taking 69 days from sowing to produce three - in pods , each is fill with three or four calorie-free unripe beans that are famed for their crank grain and buttery tasting .
‘ Early Thorogreen ’
‘ Early Thorogreen ’ is one of the fastest - maturing mixed bag you may find out . It ’s great for those in northerly climates , or successive planting in area with longer growing seasons .
‘ former Thorogreen ’ seeds are available in one - Panthera uncia packets as well as half - Sudanese pound and one - pound sacksfrom genuine Leaf Market .
A pole variety with plants that grow to 10 feet tall , ‘ Florida Speckled ’ produces intermediate - size ashen cum with sassy maroon splatter of colouring material .
‘ Florida Speckled ’
This variety need a full summer to grow to matureness , about 95 twenty-four hours . But after the wait is over , just a few industrial plant will relent gal of dry and sweet shell beans from four- to six - inch pods .
Packets of 50 ‘ Florida Speckled ’ lima bean seeds areavailable from Bean Seeds via Amazon .
‘ Fordhook 242 ’ is a well - lie with , large - source lima you may have check in the grocery store deep freezer . It ’s sometimes name to as “ spud lima ” by the old timers .
Homegrown , these beans are extra attendant and a little sweet , with a signature relish resonant of filbert .
The plant are compact , turn just 18 inch tall with shaggy-haired leaf . They take 75 day to reach due date .
Introduced by the USDA in the 1940s , ‘ Fordhook 242 ’ produces a harvest quickly , making it an optimal pick for gardeners in northerly climates .
‘ Fordhook 242 ’
It ’s also heat- and drought - liberal , and will keep bring out clump of four - inch pods with three to five beans each throughout the live summer months , and mighty up to the first rime .
‘ Fordhook 242 ’ seeds are available in one ounce and one- , five- , and 25 - pound sacksfrom True Leaf Market .
A veg well described as an “ oldie but goodie , ” ‘ Henderson ’ is America ’s best-loved baby lima .
An heirloom bush variety that ’s easy to grow in the garden or in container , it thrive in summertime heat and grows only 18 inches tall .
It ’s in force for successive planting in place with foresighted arise seasons , since it takes just 60 to 70 days to get on and begin producing bushels of three- to four - inch pods with three or more seeds each .
‘ Henderson ’
Its speed is also appreciated by those with brusk acquire time of year .
Hey , northerners deserve buttery , lovesome lima bean , too !
‘ Henderson ’ seed are useable in a two - troy ounce packet ( 150 seed ) and one - punt sacksfrom Seed Needs via Amazon .
This heirloom bush variety is a marvel – high - give way , dandy - tasting , and fast . It ’s also one of the many mixture developed to withstand the summertime heating in southern growing regions .
It takes 68 days to rise to its matured acme of 24 inch , and set three - inch pods with three or four speckled seeds each .
‘ Jackson Wonder ’
The semen are pretty , kind of a purplish - John Brown that seem like autumn , and they dry out well . Just do n’t require them to hold their form in preparation , though they ’re a great option for bean soup or hummus .
‘ Jackson Wonder’seeds are usable in half - oz. and one- , five- , and 25 - Cypriot pound sacksfrom True Leaf Market .
A veg garden ’s equivalent to the Prom King , ‘ B. B. King of the Garden ’ is a bighearted pole variety that produces six ( count ‘ em ) seeds per pod .
It was introduce in 1883 and still reigns supreme , if you ’re looking for tender white shell beans that also dry out well to buy in the pantry .
The vine spring up very grandiloquent , eight or nine feet , and involve livelihood from a trellis . I maturate mine on an arbor with fence panel on the side and top for extra support .
You have to wait 88 days for the ‘ King ’ to part give rise , so consecutive planting is out of the question .
‘ business leader of the Garden ’
But fear not , this popular perch cultivar yields such a bounty of pod , one harvest time is usually enough for new eating and a dried supplying for the winter buttery .
‘ male monarch of the Garden ’ seed are uncommitted in one - ounce package and in bulkfrom on-key Leaf Market .
This case is an heirloom that ’s a dearie of the Seed Savers Exchange .
The vine are ” semi - pole , ” grow to three to six feet tall in around 80 to 90 days .
They produce dark fleeceable pods with seeds that might be clean with maroon or burgundy flecks , or almost 100 percent dark purple .
This variety originated with Wick Smith of Sandyville , West Virginia , who give it in the thirties .
He passed it down to crime syndicate extremity who kept “ grow it out ” for an ample supplying of germ . It finally reached the Seed Savers Exchange in 2004 , as a gift from Smith ’s grandson .
You do n’t have to sacrifice vigor to produce this assortment with a multigenerational back tarradiddle .
‘ Wick ’s ’ is know for its slightly curved seedcase , colorful beans , and most of all , its adaptability .
Warm - weather condition nurseryman praise its heating tolerance , but it ’s also successful in northern climate when you plant it after the risk of frost has pass off and run it so it grow cursorily .
An heirloom pole miscellanea , ‘ Willow Leaf ’ reaches maturity in 90 to 100 days . It has a unequalled trait , leaves forge like those of the willow tree , hence its name .
The plants typically reach eight to 10 feet in summit , but the three - and - a - half - in pods give rise smaller , almost babe limas in creamy white with a ample look .
Looking for Lima Beans in All the Right Places
Are you just examine to get an idea of what ’s out there ? Or are you a gardener who ’s actively seeking a specific cultivar you get laid you need to implant ?
Either way , I trust you enjoy perusing this collection of variety show I view top notch .
And should you be looking for more information on any aspect of originate legumes , I think you ’ll enjoy reading thesebean guidesnext :
photograph by Rose Kennedy © Ask the Experts , LLC . ALL rightfield RESERVED.See our TOSfor more details . Originally write August 24th , 2021 . Last updated May 15 , 2025 . Product photos via Amazon , Bean Seeds , Burpee , Eden Brothers , Isla ’s Garden Seeds , Seed need , Tomorrow Seeds , lawful Leaf Market , Zursun . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
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