Why aren't my beans flowering?
Post categories: french bean,Ìýquestion
| 09:17 UK time, Friday, 27 August 2010
Organic gardener Sally Smith answers your questions about why runner beans may not be flowering or producing beans. If you have a similar problem,Ìýshare your experiences in the comment section below.
Elaine from Lincolnshire asks: Help! My beans are getting taller and taller, sprouting leaves and look healthy enough but I have not had one single red flower, so no beans! Will they come or is there something I should have done or be doing?
Answer: Runner beans usually start producing flowering shoots when the leading shoot reaches the tops of the poles and usually by the end of July if you planted them in May. Many gardeners pinch out the tops of the leading shoots to encourage more side shoots and flowering shoots to develop. Personally, I have never done this and have always had plenty of flowers and beans but it may be worth trying particularly if your plants are very vigorous and set on producing leaves rather than flowers.
Runner beans often drop flower buds very quickly especially in hot dry weather, you may not have spotted them before they dropped, it's worth examining the plants closely for any signs of flower buds. This problem can be helped by ensuring the plants have a good moisture supply at the roots, planting into a trench of compost will help so that the roots always have moisture there and, of course, watering and mulching the soil in dry weather.
The flowers themselves must be pollinated to produce beans. If you are on a windy site and there is a lack of pollinators, again the flowers will drop off and no beans will form. Birds sometimes can play havoc too as they peck at the buds and flowers.
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