Butter Beans or Lima Beans? Here’s How to Grow Them No Matter What You Call Them

You don’t have to be in the gardening world for long before you stumble into all kinds of controversy. Take lima and butter beans, for example. Serve up a dish of these creamy beans simmered all day, and one group of folks will call them butter beans, “Just like my grandma made.” While the other group claims these are nothing like the butter beans of their memory.

It’s not unusual for a plant with this much historical significance and widespread cultivation to have many names. Butter beans, sieva, double beans, Madagascar beans, chad beans, and wax beans are some of the names that all refer to Lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus).

These beans originated in South America, and because they were shipped from Lima, Peru, Lima Beans became the most common name. (Even though we don’t pronounce them the same.) There is a prevailing theory that these crescent-shaped beans hold some cultural significance because they appear in ancient Peruvian artwork.

Who wouldn’t be curious about a bean with such a history? For more information on the humble Lima bean, you can read this article: Lima Bean history

Call them what you want, but one thing’s for sure—the best-tasting lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus) are homegrown. If you love them at the tender, green baby stage, be sure to pick and cook them the same day for the sweetest flavor.

Lima beans are one of the easiest vegetables to grow from seed. Native to South America, they thrive in warm weather, so wait about two weeks after the last frost when nighttime temperatures stay consistently warm. For a steady harvest, try succession planting every two weeks.

Sow lima bean seeds directly in the garden 1-2 weeks after the last frost, once the soil has warmed to at least 65°F. Choose a sunny spot with well-draining soil, and space seeds 5-6 inches apart to give them room to grow.

• Direct sow lima beans when the soil has warmed up to 65ºF.

• Plant 1 seed per hole, 1” deep and 5 to 6” apart.

• Keep soil moist until beans sprout in 7 to 18 days.

Lima beans and butter beans are the same species (Phaseolus lunatus), but the name depends on regional differences and variety.

• Butter beans are typically smaller, creamier varieties like Henderson Lima Beans.

• Lima beans often refer to larger beans, like Fordhook Lima Beans.

• Some heirloom varieties, like Jackson Wonder, are beautifully speckled seeds.

All butter beans are lima beans, but not all lima beans are butter beans!

Fordhook lima beans are an All-America Selections winner. They are known for being an abundant producer of plump pods containing 3-5 large, light green seeds. Fordhook is widely adapted throughout the United States, performing well even in heat and drought conditions.

Jackson Wonder lima beans are speckled red seeds that dry to a speckled purple-brown. This versatile lima is both cold-hardy and heat and drought-tolerant. Jackson Wonder is a highly prolific and dependable lima bush bean that grows 18" tall.

This popular heirloom bush-style lima bean is compact and only reaches 16-18 tall". Each pod has 3-4 creamy tender lima beans that are reliably delicious, fresh, dried, or frozen. The Henderson variety has a smaller bean and is usually what people are referring to when they say butterbean.

In our Sow Right Seeds garden, we find lima beans to be one of the easiest seeds to sow and grow to maturity. We wait to sow seeds until the soil has warmed up. Lima beans are an excellent summer garden crop. There are vining varieties as well as bush varieties. For vining varieties, you can put in stakes or have them grow up a trellis. No additional supports are needed for bush varieties.

Each plant will produce many pods, and each pod will be full of several beans. Lima bean plants don’t need a lot of maintenance to grow bushels of beans. The beans can be harvested and eaten at different stages. Some prefer the young or baby lima beans, and others prefer to let them grow until they dry in the pod.

Plant lima beans in full sun. Your lima bean plants may grow okay in partial shade but not produce as many bean pods. A minimum of 6 hours of daily sunlight is needed, but 8 or more is better.

Fertile soil that drains well is best for growing lima beans. Add some well-rotted compost to your soil before planting. A soil pH of 6.5 is ideal.

Keep Lima bean plants well watered. Even though lima beans like warm weather and sunshine, they need adequate water while flowering and producing pods. At least one inch of water is needed per week. To avoid mildew, keep the leaves dry when watering, especially in humid climates.

Like other legumes, Lima beans can fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and don’t need additional fertilizer. Test your soil to see if you need additional phosphorus or potassium. Too much nitrogen can keep pods from forming.

You'll be harvesting lima beans about 65 to 90 days from when the plants start growing. The amount of time to maturity depends on the specific variety and the growing conditions. The pods don’t all mature at the same time.

You can harvest beans in the shelling stage. This is when the pods may still be green, but the beans are plump and starting to touch each other inside.

Lima beans can also be harvested later when the pods and beans have dried. At this stage, all the green is gone, and the beans rattle in the pods. If you wait too late, they will burst open, and the seeds will spill out on the ground.

The pods are not edible. Shell them and eat the beans, either still young or dried. Discard the pods into your compost bin.

Lima beans, like other legumes, can fix nitrogen in the soil. So after the crop is done, you can till the plants back into the soil as long as there is no disease.

Notes on cooking lima beans:

You MUST cook lima beans - boil for at least 10 minutes. Most cooks prefer cooking fresh beans for 30 minutes and stirring often for a creamy texture.

Dried Lima beans can be soaked overnight and then cooked. There are lots of great recipes for Lima beans. These beans have a thin skin and can easily absorb the flavors of whatever they are cooked in.

Lima bean pests and diseases can vary depending on the local environment. Watch for the same diseases and pests that are common to bean plants.

Pests to watch out for: Spider mites, bean beetles, cucumber beetles.

Diseases that can afflict Lima beans: Powdery mildew and root rot from overwatering.

Butter beans are botanically the same as butter beans. The difference comes from the variety used for specific recipes. There are regional differences in what are referred to as butter beans.

No. A good soaking of the soil is enough to allow the seeds to sprout.

Yes. You should cook lima beans before eating them. They have cyanide compounds that are released when chewed and can make you sick. Whether you eat them young or dry, cook the beans first.

Lima, butter, sieve, or whatever you call them, if you enjoy the earthy creamy flavor of lima beans, you’ll love homegrown even more. Try growing heirloom Lima beans in your garden and enjoy a fresh harvest.