Pima Mottled Lima Bean is a striking pole variety with pale beige pods containing beans marked by bold black stripes, spots, and solid patches. Bred in the Gila River Indian Community of Arizona, this cultivar thrives where other beans struggle, combining exceptional drought and heat tolerance with reliable productivity across spring and fall seasons. As a pole bean, it climbs gracefully on trellises while producing substantial harvests, making it both a practical choice for warm-climate gardeners and a beautiful addition to the vegetable garden.
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Moderate
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Moderate
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These beans emerge from the Low Desert with a proven track record of surviving and producing in punishing conditions. The striking mottled appearance makes them visually distinctive in the garden and on the plate. What truly sets them apart is their dual-season productivity; they perform well in spring and again in fall, giving gardeners two chances to harvest rather than one compressed window. Hardy plants that ask little once established, Pima Mottled limas reward patient growers with substantial yields in climates where heat and drought are realities, not exceptions.
Pima Mottled Lima Beans are prepared as you would any dried lima bean: shelled and cooked into rich, creamy dishes. They're excellent in soups, stews, and traditional succotash preparations where their mild, buttery character complements other vegetables and proteins. The beans can also be eaten fresh from the pod at a young stage, or allowed to mature fully and dried for long-term storage. Their hardy nature and productive vines make them practical for gardeners seeking to grow a significant portion of their own dried bean supply.
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Direct sow Pima Mottled Lima Bean seeds after soil has warmed to at least 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Plant seeds 1 inch deep in warm soil, spacing them 6 inches apart in rows 24 inches apart. These beans germinate best in soil temperatures between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit, so patience during cool springs pays off with reliable sprouting.
Harvest Pima Mottled Lima Beans when the pods have matured and begun to dry on the vine. The pods should feel dry and papery to the touch, and you can hear the beans rattle inside when ready. Shell the pods and spread the beans to dry further in a warm, well-ventilated location until they're completely hard before storing. For fresh beans, pick the pods earlier when they're still plump but before they've dried completely.
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“Pima Mottled Lima Bean originated in the community of St. John's within the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona's Low Desert. This cultivar represents generations of agricultural knowledge from the Akimel O'odham (Pima) people, who developed beans specifically adapted to the extreme conditions of the Sonoran Desert. The variety was preserved and continues to be stewarded by Native Seeds/SEARCH, an organization dedicated to maintaining rare and regionally adapted crop varieties. By growing this bean today, gardeners participate in the continuation of Indigenous agricultural tradition and plant breeding wisdom refined over centuries.”