In article ,
moghouse wrote:
On Sep 29, 8:30=A0pm, Hugh Jampton wrote:

My neighbour (new to veg growing) tells me that an *expert* in a garden
centre told him that he should leave the roots of his runner beans in the
ground at the end of the season and they will grow again next year up the
same canes - he won't have to plant new ones.

I've suggested that he's misheard what he's been told and probably he's
just been told to leave the roots in the ground. But *no* - he insists
that what he's told me is correct !

Can't be so - can it ? =A0(not that I'd ever dream of doing it)

The theory is that you cut them down at soil level and they return the
nitrogen to the soil.

That's one theory. It's right, too.

Like most things, I tried it once and a few of them regrew - but
don't put the contents of your child's moneybox on it, because it
might just have bean some dried seeds that fell on the ground nearby.

That happens, but even I (in cold Cambridge) have had runner beans
regrow from roots that overwintered. In their native climes, they
are evergreen perennials; in the UK, they are normally grown as
annuals; but they will regrow from roots, in a herbaceous fashion,
provided that the the winter is not too hard.

But don't bet on it, because it is reliable only in places like the
Isle of Wight, the Channel Islands and so on.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.