Common Bean

Phaseolus vulgaris

L. Species

Phaseolus vulgaris
Raúl A. Ruiz M. via iNaturalist — CC BY 4.0
Phaseolus vulgaris photograph 1 Phaseolus vulgaris photograph 2 Phaseolus vulgaris photograph 3 Phaseolus vulgaris photograph 4 Phaseolus vulgaris photograph 5 Phaseolus vulgaris photograph 6
Botanical name
Phaseolus vulgaris
Also known as
Bean, Common Bean, Common Haricot, Common-Bean, Dwarf Bean, Frash Bean, French Bean, French-Bean, Garden Bean, Green Bean, Haricot Bean, Kidney Bean, Kidney-Bean, Runner Bean, String Bean
Family
Fabaceae
Genus
Phaseolus
Flowering period
July to September
Height
45–240 cm
Spread
30–45 cm
Hardiness
Tender (RHS H1c)
Reference
World Flora Online

How to grow Common Bean

Written by the GardenDecoded editorial team Last reviewed 21 July 2026 Written for UK gardens How we research our guidance

Sunlight
Full sun
Watering
Regular, and heavily once flowering and podding start
Soil
Fertile, moisture-retentive, well-drained
Soil pH
Neutral

Planting

Sow in pots under cover from mid-April, or direct outdoors from late May once the soil has warmed and frost risk has passed. Cold wet soil rots the seed. Dig in plenty of garden compost the previous autumn or winter. Climbing forms need a wigwam or double row of canes about 2 m tall before planting.

Pruning

No pruning as such. Pinch out the tips of climbing beans when they reach the top of their supports. Pick pods young and often — once beans are allowed to swell and mature, cropping stops.

Propagation

From seed each year. Saved seed comes reasonably true as beans are largely self-pollinating, though it may carry seed-borne disease.

Pests and diseases

Slugs and snails destroy young plants and are the main early threat. Blackfly cluster on shoot tips. Halo blight and anthracnose show as spotting on leaves and pods and are usually seed-borne, so do not save seed from affected plants.

Value to wildlife

Flowers are visited by bumblebees, which help set the crop.

Notes

Beans are shallow-rooted and drop flowers in drought, so keep watering steady from flowering onwards. A mulch after the soil has warmed helps a great deal.

This guidance was researched and written by GardenDecoded — see our editorial policy for how guides are checked and reviewed.

Other names for this plant

These names have all been used for Phaseolus vulgaris but are no longer the accepted name. You may still meet them on old labels, in books, or in nursery catalogues.

Phaseolus aborigineus Phaseolus aborigineus var. hondurensis Phaseolus albus Phaseolus angulosus Phaseolus asparagioides Phaseolus capensis Phaseolus carinatus Phaseolus carinatus var. carneus Phaseolus carinatus var. lividus Phaseolus ceratonoides Phaseolus communis Phaseolus communis Phaseolus compessus Phaseolus compressus Phaseolus compressus var. candidus Phaseolus compressus var. carneus Phaseolus compressus var. cervinus Phaseolus compressus var. ferrugineus Phaseolus compressus var. flavomaculatus Phaseolus compressus var. fulvoater Phaseolus compressus var. fuscocoerulescens Phaseolus compressus var. fuscomaculatus Phaseolus compressus var. humilis Phaseolus compressus var. lividus Phaseolus compressus var. luteus Phaseolus compressus var. macrocarpus Phaseolus compressus var. major Phaseolus compressus var. nanus Phaseolus compressus var. niger Phaseolus compressus var. ochraceus Phaseolus compressus var. pullus Phaseolus compressus var. xanthocarpus Phaseolus cruentus Phaseolus curda Phaseolus deliciosus Phaseolus dimidiatus Phaseolus domingensis Phaseolus ellipticus Phaseolus ellipticus var. albus Phaseolus ellipticus var. amethystinus Phaseolus ellipticus var. atrofuscus Phaseolus ellipticus var. aureolus Phaseolus ellipticus var. aureus Phaseolus ellipticus var. bocconei Phaseolus ellipticus var. carneus Phaseolus ellipticus var. citrinus Phaseolus ellipticus var. fasciatus Phaseolus ellipticus var. helvolus Phaseolus ellipticus var. mesomelas Phaseolus ellipticus var. nanus Phaseolus ellipticus var. niger Phaseolus ellipticus var. pictus Phaseolus ellipticus var. saccharatus Phaseolus ellipticus var. spadiceus Phaseolus ellipticus var. willmotianus Phaseolus esculentus Phaseolus ferrugineus Phaseolus gonospermos Phaseolus gonospermos var. albus Phaseolus gonospermos var. carneolutescens and 140 more

Others in Phaseolus

Phaseolus × dumosus
Phaseolus acinaciformis
Phaseolus acutifolius
Phaseolus acutifolius var. acutifolius
Phaseolus acutifolius var. tenuifolius
Phaseolus albescens
Phaseolus albicarminus
Phaseolus albiflorus

GardenDecoded is an educational gardening reference. Botanical data comes from World Flora Online and GBIF; growing guidance is our own. Always check a plant's toxicity and local invasiveness status before planting, and never eat or apply a plant based on this site alone.