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Phaseolus caracalla
Snail Flower, Snail Vine, Corkscrew Flower
| Easy and fast-growing, nutritious and versatile in cooking, beans come in many varieties. Snap Beans need only a short growing season, and are rich in vitamins A and C, plus calcium and iron. Harvest before beans form. Eat Shell Beans fresh when beans fill out pods, but are not full size. Dry and store beans once pods shrivel. Many varieties can be eaten fresh or dried for storage. Support long, twining vines of Pole Beans on string tied between stakes, on a trellis or fence. Self-supporting, 1- to 2-feet-tall Bush Beans produce fewer beans than Pole types, but can be grown in containers. Most like warm weather, so plant long after last spring frosts. Seedlings transplant poorly. Treating seeds with a legume inoculant increases harvest. Plant Snap Beans in warm soil at 2-week intervals, and harvest crops all summer. Keep moist. With all beans, watch for Mexican bean beetle and downy mildew. Do not water overhead or work with wet plants, to avoid spreading leaf diseases. Pollinated by bees, so spray any chemicals at dusk when bees are gone. |
This twining perennial looks similar to pole bean. White or yellow flowers have purple wings and the keel coiled like a snail's shell. An oblong fruit grows to about 8 inches long.
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Attributes - Phaseolus caracalla
Plant Type: Vine
Bloom Season: Mid Spring through Mid Summer
Flower Color: White, Yellow
Foliage: Evergreen
Height: 12 ft. to 18 ft.
Width: 18 ft.
Sunlight: Full Sun, Partial Sun
Climate: Zones 10, 11
Notes: Cut Flowers, Fragrant, Long Blooming, Showy Flowers.
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Related Plants
Phaseolus coccineus, Phaseolus limensis, Phaseolus vulgaris, Phaseolus vulgaris 'Kentucky Blue'
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