I have never lifted runner bean roots but they have occasionaly overwintered in my garden without my intervention. However, they will not survive if they freeze and this year we had a cold winter so I don't think there will be any survivors. I do not rely on them surviving because it is so iffy.

They are so easy to grow from seed it doesn't seem worth the hassle of lifting the roots. But it would make an interesting experiment. I should think that whatever works for dahlias would work for runner beans.

I'd like to see a photo of what runner bean roots are supposed to look like. I accidentally pulled one out while cleaning up the canes last fall, and it looked just like any other bean root. That is, it was thin and spindly and branched. I expected something like a rhizome or tuber.

Happyday - they look like rather skinny dahlia tubers. Don't know why yours didn't have them - maybe too young? I've never dug mine up to see when the tuber forms but they're certainly there by October/Novemberish when the beans finally give up.

This is good info. I like to experiment so will try lifting a few just to see what happens.

DL

i pulled this out of the compost heap for you Happy. A few were larger which surprised me considering the plant's lackluster perfomance. They were nearly 5 months old.

DL, could you overwinter them with a nice thick layer of mulch in your zone?

Thank you Flora and especially Mauirose for the photo. Maui, what is the name of that runner bean? Is it an Insuks Wang Kong? It looks almost like an iris rhizome with the smaller roots emerging from the bottom like that.

The one I pulled looked nothing like that big central tuber. More like the branches off to the left. I GIS'd dahlia tuber and it was not thick like them either.

We get a full freeze here for at least 3-4 months with snowcover. I left all of my Insuks Wang Kong roots in the ground (except for the one I accidentally pulled) with a thick mulch of pine straw. I think today I'll remove the mulch and see if anything emerges. Will be interesting if anything survived.

There was a devastating hailstorm in July last year, in the middle of the growing season, and the plants had to regrow from the roots. This may explain a lack of large tubers in the roots.

Tubers like that look as if they have culinary potential. Are they ever eaten?

Jim

Thanks for that photo -- now I will know what I am looking for.

Come to think of it I could probably heavily mulch them to keep them alive. I think I will pull a few and mulch a few and report back in 2011 with my results.

Jim,
They look like white sweet potato but I can't come up with edible info yet.......

DL

They are Aztec Half Runner Beans aka Potato Beans. i don't know if the tuber size is typical for a runner bean or not. i have to admit that when i dug them up i wondered about that name, Potato Bean! Haven't read that runner bean tubers are edible but their appearance does beg the question, doesn't it? i will be digging some year old wing beans soon and am looking forward to sampling those.