No problem with growing them in North Carolina. Either bush or pole are relatively easy. Culture is basicly the same as for green beans, but you do need to plant them a couple weeks later. They also takes afew weeks longer to harvest. If he is familiar with the green tinted types, they are bush. Cangreen/Thorogreen are usually carried locally. Pole beans are a little more work, you have to provide something for them to climb. The white baby lima Carolina/Sieva would probably be best in this situation.
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Carolina Red Lima for a pole variety or Dixie Speckled Butterpea for a bush variety would be two brightly colored varieties to try.

DarJones

When I was still living in SoCal, I had more latitude in my choices than I do now. One year, on a whim, I attached a 10' bamboo pole (that I had cut from a riverbank) to a steel fencepost driven in deep. A hill of "King of the Garden" limas was planted at the base.

The limas went to the top of the pole & beyond, a regular "Jack & the beanstalk"! My children were 8-10 years old at the time, and they were really impressed. Of course, we couldn't pick them that high. Eventually the mass of vines & pods was too heavy for the bamboo, and a windy day broke off the top.

If you only want a few bushes, I would recommend "Burpee's Improved". The seeds are very large, especially in the green shell stage... and to a young boy, "big" means bragging rights. ;-) "Fordhook 242" is another large seeded variety.

Thanks.

Do the large white and colored ones taste any different from the little green ones?

I think the speckled ones taste stronger. They have them frozen at Walmart and we bought them for a taste test.
The pole beans with a King of the Garden pole sounds like a very fun kid project because they grow literally inches a day. I find all the green ones taste pretty similar and you can find them frozen at the store to sample as well.

After surveying the site available we'll go with a bush variety.

I've already put in my seed mail orders. If I buy limas out of the bulk bins at the farm supply store will the ones with the small, green seeds at the eating stage still be small and green when dry or do they change color as they mature?

The green tinted varieties will be be green at the dry bean stage. Most local vendors will carry Thorogreen or Cangreen. They are pretty much interchangeable. The white baby limas will Henderson's Baby Lima and many farm supply stores also carry those. The large limas like the white King of the Garden and the colored Calico/ Christmas lima have quite different texture and taste than baby limas. That is also true for bush varieties like Burpee's Improved and Big Six. Colored limas do have a stronger flavor. Dixie Butterpeas both white and colored are quite good, but different than the flat baby limas. A good pole colored baby lima is the Florida Speckled Butterbean.
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Great photos, as usual, farmerdill.

I've been planning to grow Florida Speckleds. I came across a packet of a pole limas called Giant Speckled. Is this the same as or similar to Florida Speckled?

Jim

Giant Speckled is usually an alternate name for the Calico/ Christmas lima which is a large flat pole lima. At the green shell stage they are as large as a quarter dollar. Alternate names include Giant Speckled Pole, Giant Florida Pole. The Florida Speckled Butterbean has similar makings but is a baby lima about the same size as the white Carolina or Willow Leaf.

Here is a link that might be useful: Florida Speckled Butterbean