Runner beans - flowers falling off

[Cathy W]

This is my first time on the Grapevine, and I am quite new to GYO. I am trying runner beans for the first time this year, and have chosen dwarf varieties because my plot is quite small. My plants have quite a few flowers on them, but they seem to be falling off without any beans appearing. What should I do?

[Alice]

Hello Cathy, if your beans look otherwiswe healthy I don't think you need to worry. Water them a bit more and give some feed. You can't keep a good bean down. They will soon do more flowers - and beans. In gardens, time cures nearly everything.

[Cathy W]

Thanks Alice for the quick response, I thought I'd be the only person up at this time of night! I have been watering them copiously and feeding them, so hopefully they will be okay!

[valmarg]

Sorry Cathy, but I don't think your bean flowers are 'falling off' - I think they are being 'pecked off' by sparrows. I don't know what it is about runner bean flowers (particularly the red flowered varieties), but they seem to attract sparrows. I have watched them perching on the plants, pecking off the flowers.

Apart from netting, it is difficult to know what to do against this. Believe me hanging up unwanted CDs only provides perches for them to land on to pick off the flowers.

We are fortunate, insofar as we grow a lot of runner/climbing french beans, and the flower loss does not prevent us from getting a good crop.

I think this may be the cause of your flower loss.

valmarg

[Alice]

Do you have sparrows Cathie ? If so it may be as Valmarg says. We have a fabulous collection of birds, but no sparrows. We once had a passing party who stopped for a bath in the gutters but otherwise in 20 odd years we haven't seen them.

[nick the grief]

More likely to be bees eating there way into the pollen from the back or it may jus tbe the hot weather.. Try going over them with a watering can first thing in the morining it may help.

[Shortie]

I was always told not to expect the first set of bean flowers to set anyway...? No idea why I was told that, but I've heard a few people say it...

[blackkitty]

I find that spraying them first thing in the morning and last thing at night does help them set. I never get every flower to set a bean though, but as they go on more set than at the beginning.

[Cathy W]

Hurray! I can see my first bean today! All that rain last night probably did the trick.

[Alice]

My first beans have just appeared in the last few days Cathy. Hope you get a good crop. As I said, you can't keep a good bean down. Enjoy.

[leona]

some flowers have fallen off my runners today. and they kept falling. ive still got plenty but each time i check a couple more have come off. they are actually looking shriveled on the plant before they fall off. ive been spraying them and they are fed and watered so could it be too much water on the flowers possibly?

[Fru]

Fru

More likely to be bees eating there way into the pollen from the back or it may jus tbe the hot weather.. Try going over them with a watering can first thing in the morining it may help.

Have seen bees eating back of flower and flower then falls off. More this year than normal,

[Jungle Jane]

Hi Fru there's another "flowers falling off" thread here,I don't think the people on this thread still come on here,join in the chat over here ~
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...off_94046.html