Hyacinth Bean Vine – Complete Growing and Caring Guide

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The Hyacinth bean vine is also known as the purple hyacinth. It is a type of bean, and this species belongs to the Fabaceae family. It grows in tropical countries, including India, Indonesia, and Africa.

It is widely known for its unique pea pods and has a gorgeous and bright purple color. It mainly grows in the summer season and colors up your garden. It also blooms in different colors like white and pink. It grows as a vertical plant and reaches 10 feet above the ground.

Although the appearance of the vine is truly eye-catching and you won’t be able to resist touching it, you must know that these are poisonous. The pea pod has ‘cyanogenic glucoside‘ with multiple side effects like vomiting and breathing issues. Thus, it is not good to plant this in your garden if you have pets or small children.

How to Grow Hyacinth Bean Vine?

This vine is easy to grow and quickly fills up spaces in your garden. It also attracts a lot of pollinators like bees and butterflies because of its fragrance. If you are a nature lover, you will love planting them. Here is a complete guide on growing and taking care of the bean vine.

1. Preferred Location

Preferred Location
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It is best to plant this vine in sunny areas. The plant can easily thrive in direct sunlight, and the flowering will be remarkable. If you grow it in a partial sunlight area, there will be lesser blooms and fungal diseases. You should also plant it in hardiness zones.

2. Soil

Soil
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This variety of bean vine prefers organic, well-drained soil. The soil pH should be within the range of 6 to 6.8. The plant likes a lot of water and nutrients to grow well. Thus, you can add compost to the soil to get all the necessary nutrients to grow healthy.

Although it needs a lot of water, it does not like wet soil. The roots of the plants shall rot overtime in the damp soil. Thus, it is best to keep the soil moist and well-drained. You can also add some plant supplements to get colorful flowers throughout the season.

3. Seeds

Seeds
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This vine needs to be planted using seeds only. The plant cannot grow through the cuttings. You can also purchase a grown plant from the nearby nursery.

If that option is not available, you do not need to worry; seeds of the vine are readily available online or in local stores. You can also save the plant’s seeds and cultivate them next year.

The most popular variety of seeds is the silver moon and ruby moon. The silver moon variety shall give you white flowers while the other will provide you with pink and purple flowers. The price of the seeds depends on the type you choose.

4. Sowing

Sowing
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You need to check the weather before sowing its seeds. It is ideal for planting your seeds once the temperature starts remaining above 10 degrees because these seeds will not germinate appropriately in cold soil. Also, the new plants will be destroyed by the departing frost if you plant them before the spring arrives.

You can directly plant the seeds in the soil, or you can also begin with indoor planting of seeds and then transplant it later to the main soil. You should plant the seeds into deeper soil layers and maintain a gap of at least 6 inches between them.

Remember to keep the soil moist so that the seeds can germinate well. To prevent the growth of weeds, you can use mulch. If you water regularly, then the seeds should germinate within a span of 10 to 20 days.

5. Transplanting

When the seeds are well-germinated, you can transplant them to your main garden space. Try to maintain a minimum distance of at least 10 inches between the two plants.

Also, the vine will grow vertically and tall enough, up to 10 feet in height. If you do not plant it in the right place and do not provide it with ample space to grow upwards, it will grow in the wrong direction and mess up your garden.

So, you should set up vertical support for the vine to grow conveniently. Although, if you do not have any other plants in your garden, you will not face this issue. If you have several other plants in your garden, this can tangle with them.

While the plants are still small, you should take proper care and ensure they are growing in the right direction because untangling smaller plants is very easy.

6. Watering

Watering
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Hyacinth bean vine is a very low-maintenance plant. It just needs an ample amount of sunlight to grow well. You only need to water them regularly. If you want to keep your plant healthy, you might add some plant supplements.

It is an ideal plant for gardeners who are just beginning as it does not need much care and adds beautiful colors to your garden. But to maintain your garden, you should schedule pruning regularly. It will keep your garden tidy. Do not forget to use appropriate protection while pruning because it has toxins.

7. Pod Formation

Pod formation
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The pods of the bean vine shall start appearing slowly after around 90 days. The hyacinth bean vine grows very fast, and it becomes even bigger when the summer sets in. The plant shall sprout with beans when the temperatures rise considerably.

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8. Pruning

As a gardener, you already know how necessary pruning is. It will keep your bean vine tidy and make it look beautiful. So, you should regularly prune to maintain your garden.

You should also practice branching throughout the summer so that new branches can pop up from your plant. But you should do it only after the plant has grown to standard size.

9. Fertilization

Fertilization
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Although people call it a very low-maintenance plant, it does not mean that it does not require even the minimum amount of care. Apart from water, it also involves a lot of nutrients. Thus, you should fertilize often.

Apart from using fertilizer while planting and transplanting it, you should fertilize at least once in 20 days when the season arrives. Also, just before the blooming time of the vine comes, you can use a high phosphorus formula that will ensure brighter and bigger flowers in your plants.

10. Diseases

The best part about this bean vine is that it is not bothered by many diseases. Whatever diseases occur can be treated with minimum care using insecticides, pesticides, or repellents.

In some cases, butterflies leave their eggs on the leaves of the bean vine, and the caterpillars shall stay there for a short time. Other than that, two diseases occur very often and are easily curable.

11. Blight

You can observe blight on the leaves of your bean vine.  It is usually found in the lower parts of the vine. Initially, they look like small spots, but they expand in size. It is dangerous as it grows and makes the plant weak. Although, you can quickly get rid of it using fungicides.

12. Rust

Rust can be formed on your plant’s leaves because of excess moisture. Fungal parasites can also cause rust on your leaves and give them a different coloration.

You will also observe that your leaves will wilt after some time. Hence, it is vital to plant the bean vine in direct sunlight to get rid of the excess moisture from the soil naturally. It can be controlled using suitable soil and a good drainage system.

You can also deal with it by pruning the affected leaves and using home remedies like the application of neem oil. Some fungicides, including the copper-based sprays, also help you get rid of the plant rust.

13. Pests

Pests
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Caterpillars, beetles, and butterflies are some of the common pests that you will notice in the hyacinth bean vine. Although, if your plant is well grown and healthy, they shall prove no harm to your plant.

They might affect the smaller plants and can cause damage to the seedings. Once the caterpillars find themselves comfortable on the leaves on the bean vine, they might be reluctant to move on their own. They can be easily removed by using home remedies like neem oil or onion peels.

It was all about the hyacinth bean vine’s complete growing and caring guide. If you grow the plant this year, do not forget to save the seeds so that you can plant them again next year. It is a beautiful perennial that adds colors to your garden with minimum care.

Conclusion

There are many beneficial uses of the plant. You can form decorative entrances to your garden using this bean vine. The shoot and the leaves are consumed by many people worldwide in the form of soups and salad.

But you must remember that the seeds of this bean vine are poisonous. Thus, if you consume any part of the plant, you should know the cooking procedure beforehand.

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