Hestia
The runner bean for exposed Irish gardens and patios. Knee high, so there is nothing for the wind to knock over.
If wind is the reason you have given up on runner beans, this is the variety that changes the answer. Hestia is a true dwarf, reaching around 45cm, so it needs no canes, no wigwam and no annual argument with the weather. It carries the same red and white bicolour flowers as a full sized runner and produces smooth stringless pods over a long season, from a plant small enough for a patio pot.
Quick facts
- Botanical name
- Phaseolus coccineus
- Type
- Open pollinated
- Category
- Dwarf, bicolour flowered
- Difficulty
- Easy, good first crop
- Hardiness
- Tender, no frost tolerance
- In Ireland
- Grows outdoors unprotected
- Germination
- 7 to 14 days at 12 to 25C
- Sowing depth
- 5cm
- Spacing
- 20cm apart, 60cm between rows
- Height
- 45cm
- Position
- Full sun
- Containers
- Grows well in pots
- Sowing to harvest
- 12 to 16 weeks
- Harvest
- July to October
Sowing and harvest calendar for Hestia
Months shaded below are the reliable windows for Irish conditions.
Where to buy Hestia runner bean seeds in Ireland
Irish suppliers that stock this, so postage stays domestic and seed arrives in time to sow. These are plain links, not paid placements.
Garden centres and mixed retailers
- Mr Middleton Irish Posted from Dublin, carries the branded dwarf runners Mail order arm of a long established Mary Street shop, carries the familiar named varieties the organic specialists skip. Visit Mr Middleton , Co. Dublin
- Johnstown Garden Centre Irish Widest branded range, best ordered in spring Third generation family business near Naas with the widest branded range, though popular varieties sell out by midsummer. Visit Johnstown Garden Centre , Co. Kildare
- Woodie's Cheapest packet, click and collect nationwide Dublin headquartered chain, part of Grafton Group. Cheapest per packet and the only nationwide click and collect option. Visit Woodie's
Why it suits Ireland
A 2.5m wigwam in leaf is a sail, and in an exposed Irish garden it is the reason a lot of people have stopped growing runner beans. Hestia removes the problem rather than working around it. There is nothing for the wind to catch, nothing to blow over in an August gale, and nothing to build in the first place.
That makes it the obvious choice for coastal gardens, for anywhere on the west, and for the balcony or patio grower whose only outdoor space is windy by definition. It is also a good crop for a raised bed where a full sized wigwam would shade everything behind it.
The flowers are bicolour red and white and the pods are smooth and stringless. It is a proper runner bean in flavour, not a French bean sold as one, and it crops over a long period rather than all at once.
The trade off is yield. A dwarf plant carries far fewer pods than a 2.5m climber, so grow a block of them rather than one or two.
Growing notes
Sow indoors in pots from late April to late May, 5cm deep, or direct sow from June once the soil has warmed. Plant out after the last frost, from the end of May on the coast and early June elsewhere.
Space plants about 20cm apart in a block, or five to six to a 30 litre container. Containers need daily watering in summer and a high potash feed once flowering starts.
Slugs are the main threat, more so than with a climbing runner, because the whole plant stays within reach all season. Protect young plants for the first fortnight and keep the pods off wet soil with a few twiggy supports.
Pick every two or three days from midsummer while the pods are still flat. As with any runner bean, letting seed ripen in the pods stops the plant flowering.
Common questions
How much will one dwarf runner bean plant produce?
Considerably less than a climbing plant, because there is far less plant. The way to use a dwarf runner is to grow several close together, around 20cm apart, and treat the block as the crop rather than counting individual plants. Five or six plants in a large container will keep a couple in beans through August and September, which is a fair return for something that needs no structure at all.
Does Hestia need any support?
Not in the sense that a climbing runner does. It holds itself up to about 45cm, but a heavy crop in wet weather can flop, so a few twiggy sticks pushed in around the plants when they are half grown keeps the pods off the soil and away from slugs. In a container, planting a group together so they lean on each other does much the same job.
Can I sow Hestia later than a climbing runner bean?
Yes, and it is a good crop to hold in reserve. Because the plant is small and comes into flower quickly, a sowing in early June still crops well through September. That makes it useful for filling a gap left by an early crop, or as a second run if slugs took your first sowing.
More runner beans to consider
Scarlet Emperor
Heirloom / Climbing, scarlet flowered
The default runner bean, and still a good one. Early, heavy, open pollinated and sold everywhere.
Growing notes and stockistsMoonlight
AGMOpen pollinated / Climbing, white flowered
The answer to an Irish summer that keeps the bees indoors. Sets pods when a scarlet variety just drops its flowers.
Growing notes and stockistsPainted Lady
Heirloom / Climbing, bicolour flowered
Grown as much for the flowers as the beans. Lighter cropping than modern runners, and worth it anyway.
Growing notes and stockists