How to Grow Lima Beans UK
On this page
- Lima Bean (Phaseolus lunatus)
- When to Plant Lima Beans in the UK
- Quick Facts
- At a Glance
- Soil & Growing Conditions
- Growth Stages
- Harvest & Storage
- Diseases
- Pests
- Lima Bean, a Heat-Loving Climber from the Americas
- Plan your Lima Beans planting
- Growing Lima Bean in another region
- References
- Frequently Asked Questions
In the UK, lima beans go in the ground mid May to early July, and are ready to harvest 60–105 days after planting.
Timing is the decision that matters most in the UK: sowing mid May, and that same window applies across all 4 regions covered here.
The short answer
- Plant
- Mid May to early July
- Ready in
- 60–105 days
- Site
- soil pH 5.5–7
- Biggest risk
- Bean anthracnose
Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.
Lima Bean (Phaseolus lunatus)
Also known as: sieva bean, butter bean · 12 sources cited · Verified
When to Plant Lima Beans in the UK
When to plant lima beans in the UK: in Southern England, sow mid May to early July. Find your area in the table below.
Quick Facts
At a Glance
Soil & Growing Conditions
Growth Stages
Harvest & Storage
Diseases
Pests
Lima Bean, a Heat-Loving Climber from the Americas
Plan your Lima Beans planting
When to sow and plant Lima Beans depends on your own frost dates. Check the UK vegetable planting calendar. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.
Growing Lima Bean in another region
Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.
References
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Carries action thresholds rather than only descriptions: three thrips per flower may interfere with pollination and cause defectively shaped pods; corn earworm warrants treatment at 5% damaged pods or one larva per 3 ft of row; tarnished plant bug at one bug per 6 ft of row; stink bugs at one per 10 ft on snap beans and one per 15 ft on lima beans, which are more sensitive. Mexican bean beetle completes egg-to-adult in about a month with three generations a year, and Wade and Black Valentine are resistant or tolerant. Lesser cornstalk borer causes 30-50% stand loss on late plantings after 1 July on sandy soil in hot dry conditions. Spider mites can complete a generation in as few as eight days in hot dry weather.
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Sow about 3in apart, 1in deep, in rows 18-36in apart, in a warm, well-drained location, after soil reaches at least 75°F (24°C); optimal soil temperature for germination is around 85°F (29°C), optimal growing temperature 70-80°F (21-27°C). Requires more heat than standard bush beans and performs poorly in cool seasons. Pick for fresh shelling when beans are plump and bulge inside the pods.
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UK sowing: outdoors after the last frost risk (mid-May) until early July, 2-4cm deep. Row sowing: 40-50cm apart in the row, 100-120cm between rows; cluster sowing 6-8 seeds per station. Likes plenty of sun, cannot tolerate wet soil; earth up when about 15cm tall for stability. Main harvest September-October. Bush varieties ready 60-80 days from sowing; pole varieties 85-90 days. Frost-tender, hardy to zone 10, likely needs greenhouse/hoop house protection in cooler UK climates.
12 independent sources are cited for this crop. Where they disagree - soil pH is the clearest case - every figure is preserved rather than averaged into false precision.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I sow lima beans in the UK?
In Southern England, from mid May. In Scotland, wait until mid May. Treat these as a guide rather than a fixed date — the governing rule is to sow only once frost risk has passed and temperatures are reliably warm enough.
When do I sow lima beans?
Sow mid May to early July, at around 29°C for germination.
How long do lima beans take to grow?
Typically 60–105 days, depending on cultivar and growing conditions.
What soil pH do lima beans need?
A pH of about 5.5–7. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.
What problems affect lima beans?
Our data links 2 diseases and 13 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.
Plan next season before the problems start
Most of the advice on this page comes down to timing and spacing — sowing at the right moment, rotating beds, and giving plants enough airflow. The UK Garden Planner lays your plot out month by month so those decisions are already made before the season starts.
Get the UK Garden Planner →Instant PDF download · Written for UK growing conditions
How this guide is put together
The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against RHS and Met Office guidance. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.
Related Problem Guides
Last verified 2026-08-30
Plan Lima Beans by month
The months this guide gives for sowing or planting, each with the full list of jobs for that month in the UK:
More from the same group (peas & beans):
Growing advice for your part of the UK
Timing and conditions change a lot inside one country. These guides cover frost dates and growing seasons region by region.
Where To Go From Here
Take this crop from reading into a written plan for your own beds.
Keep going
Plan the next step
Use the printable SoilCommander planner for your region to turn this guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and weekly garden tasks.