Ilene, I'll get you part way there.

Pink Pearl or Pinquito - bush
Ying Yang or Orca or Black Calypso - bush
Zuni Gold or Raquel - pole
Rattlesnake - pole
Mayflower - pole
Black Nightfall - bush
Maine Yellow Eye - bush
Swedish Brown - bush
Tiger Eye - bush
China or Persian Lima Beans - I found a "Persian" and a "Persian Star" (both are pole)
Maronne Bell Peas - these are cowpeas, not beans; anticipate a sprawling semi-pole habit

There are some different beans using the same photo (including your "Persian" and "China Bean"), so WYSIWYG may not apply. Most of the common beans are probably pure, or reasonably so. The lima would be my only concern, since bees will cross them readily, if others were grown nearby.

I have grown three of them:

"Rattlesnake", an excellent-flavored snap with striped pods, that does well in hot weather
"Calypso", a productive dry bean that holds well on the plant
"Tiger Eye", an excellent green-shelled bush bean

Well, I admit I am impressed.

I guess another thing I need to know is: are there any on that list other than the China or Persian Lima that are limas? Is it just the limas that I have to worry about cross-pollinating?

I'm getting some yard-long beans from a trade. Do I have to worry about them cross-pollinating?

The Yardlongs won't cross with the beans, but they might with the cowpeas.

ok then Hairy, I won't plant the cowpeas this year then. Thanks for the heads up. --Ilene

You could prolly plant both if you kept them say 50 feet apart. I don't think the chance of them crossing are particularly high. There are some Bean Guru's here that are much smarter at this than me and I am sure one of them will see this and respond.

Ommmmmmm.....

Since I began seed saving in earnest, I have grown at least a few cowpeas and yardlongs (they are the same species) in the same garden each year, and have yet to see a single cross. I use approximately the same distance as HMK recommended (about 50 feet) with other trellised pole beans & flowers planted between.

However, cowpeas are not common in my Northern location, and any pollinators that might prefer them are probably not present. In the South, where they are more widely grown, the chances of crossing might be higher.

I still believe that with the use of distance + "barrier crops" (tall flowers, or tall flowering vegetables such as limas or pole beans) placed between different varieties, there should be little to no crossing.

Of greater concern would be the limas, since they are a good nectar source & bees will fly a great distance to feed on them. "Butterbeans" are widely cultivated in the South, so in a suburban setting, there is a fairly good chance of at least occasional crossing. I would recommend growing only one variety if saving seed, and planting it at the center of the garden, surrounded by other good pollen & nectar sources. With cowpeas on each side of the limas (while observing the proper isolation distance between the cowpeas), they will both help protect each other.

I agree with Zeedman. I have had yardlong/cowpea crosses, but really only when I had them growing side by side. Since that time I simply give them space (I try for 50') and use barrier crops.

I've grown two limas for years, without a single cross. But I usually either gave them a couple hundred feet isolation or else only grew one per year. Location does make a difference. Last fall I was astounded to see how my lima patch was absolutely swarming with pollinators, such as I had never seen before. I lost one of my old standby limas (Flossie Powell). So I may just stick with the other (Calico Willow Leaf).

George
currently back in Mexico

Thanks everyone for the helpful information. I have just begun to branch out into other things besides standard stuff. I grew heirloom tomatoes for the first time last year, and grew Lazy Wife pole beans for the last three years, not knowing it was an "heirloom", too. This year I have gotten more into the swing of things, trying some new stuff.

I got my beans today, and you know I'm just surprised how small some of these beans are. Of course the pictures on the seller's website make it impossible to tell their size. I can tell which beans are meant to be eaten green because they're the little ones. I had never thought in terms of cooking up a pot of beans from mature snap-bean pods, except for an occasional pot of shelly beans. I always just thought of them as "seed"! LOL

I'm a red-neck woman, born in KS, raised and growing old in OK and I just don't understand gourmet eating, I guess. But, I and my friends are going to have plenty to go around. I might even have some of them to trade. George, would you be interested in trading some of your Calico Willow Leaf beans? If so, e-mail me. There's nothing better than a pot of lima beans cooked with a ham bone, and some fried potatoes and a square of buttered southern corn bread on the side. Yum, yum! --Ilene

Hey Ilene,

I just recognized who you are I think. We just did a trade didn't we. I'm Anthony. The Yarlongs were small. I actually think they should have let the seed mature just a bit more. They are not big bean anyway, but those I traded to you were on the smaller side of what they should have been. I plan on planting mine anyway and seeing what I get. I wish you luck on yours too.

Oh, Anthony, I was not talking about the yard long seed that you sent me! They are wonderful. What I was talking about was all those bean seed that I bought from the gourmet bean store online, that they were advertising for cooking but no mention of planting. I've been trying to find out whether they're bush or runner, snap bean or dry, lima or therwise, since I ordered them. You guys on the bean forum have helped me a lot.

I would never publicly slam someone I had traded with. If I was unhappy in any way, I would have e-mailed you directly. By the way, did you get your seed? Did I put enough postage on, I noticed you put quite a bit more on
your envelope on than I did and I worried that you might've had to pay to get your beans.
If I owe you postage, let me know. Hope you enjoy your Lazy Wife beans.. --Ilene Jones

"I can tell which beans are meant to be eaten green because they're the little ones."

That's not a totally reliable rule. For example, flageolets, butterpeas and some other small beans are often used as dry beans.

Jim

Oh, awwright, Jimster, you got me there, even though I've never cooked flageolets.

I guess the ones that have gone unidentified will just be an adventure!

Ilene, finding this thread is so funny. I was just coming on this site after looking at Purcell Mountain Farms and drooling over their beans, particularly the Dapple Grays. I was also thinking of ordering some to plant like you are doing. I hope you let us know how it turns out as I'd be very interested.

Calypso was one of the beans I planted last year. Because of the drought we had in our area mine didn't do too well, the worst out of the 4 varieties I planted. (Black Turtle did the best, followed by Jacob's Cattle, Adzuki, and Calypso) I hope the weather is better for us this season. Gook luck!

hettar7 - I can give you some pointers on ordering beans from Purcell Mountain Farms.
1. Don't bother e-mailing them because they don't reply.
2. Be aware that several of the beans are sold under different names. I accidentally ordered two packages of the same bean.
3. My order processed fast. I ordered on Saturday afternoon and had shipment confirmation in my mailbox on Sunday. The box arrived shortly, with a corner broken and one of the packages punctured but if I lost some beans I don't think I lost many.
4. Many of the beans are a lot smaller than you think they're going to be and actually are beans from varieties that are most often eaten as green beans. Most of the beans I bought were about the size of those little black turtle beans like you can buy at the grocery store.

I have planted a few of the beans inside under light because I needed to know whether they were pole or bush before deciding where to plant. The folks here gave me that information on some of the varieties, but there were about 8 beans that no one had information on, so I figured growing a trial one was the only way to know. The pebble beans are climbers for sure. I'm having a lot of trouble getting the white marble bean to germinate, but the others have germinated within a week. I think pink pearl and dapple gray are going to be bush, but won't know for sure for a little bit longer. Hope this helps! --Ilene

Bump. (please bump, OK?)

I also purchased from Purcell and had good luck so far with:

Black valentines (bush beans we ate them as green beans, they are slender with round cross section, firm and good)

White sweet runners. They are growing vigorously, have eaten some as snaps, I am waiting for some shellies now.

Runner cannelinis. I thought these would be P. vulgaris but they are P coccineus. It is OK, good thing I planted them early enough to get a crop.