6 Best Scarlet Runner Bean Towers For Beginners For First-Year Success
Achieve first-year success with scarlet runner beans. This guide details 6 easy-to-build towers for beginners, ensuring a strong and productive crop.
You’ve planted your scarlet runner beans, watching the first true leaves unfurl, and now you see the first tiny tendrils reaching for something to grab. This is the moment of truth for your harvest. Without a solid plan for vertical support, those vigorous vines will quickly become a tangled, unproductive mess on the ground.
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Why Towers Boost Scarlet Runner Bean Harvests
Giving scarlet runner beans a strong vertical structure to climb is non-negotiable for a good harvest. These are not bush beans; they are aggressive climbers that can easily reach 10-15 feet. A tower channels that energy upward, preventing the vines from sprawling across the ground where they become susceptible to rot, slugs, and mildew.
Vertical growth dramatically improves air circulation around the leaves and developing pods. Better airflow means faster drying after rain or morning dew, which is your best defense against common fungal diseases that thrive in damp, stagnant conditions. It also means more sunlight reaches more of the plant. Instead of a few leaves at the top getting all the light, a vining plant on a tower exposes a much larger surface area, fueling more robust flowering and bean production.
Finally, harvesting from a tower is just plain easier. You can see and reach the beans without crawling on the ground or digging through a dense mat of foliage. This convenience means you’re more likely to pick beans consistently. Consistent picking is the signal that tells the plant to keep producing more flowers and pods. A tangled ground-level mess is a recipe for missed beans, which signals the plant to stop producing and focus on seed maturation instead.
Gardener’s Supply Co. Titan Tuteur Trellis
When you want a structure that is both beautiful and brutally functional, the Titan Tuteur is a serious contender. Made from powder-coated tubular steel, this isn’t a flimsy support that will bend under the weight of mature, rain-soaked vines. It’s an investment piece for your garden that will last for many years.
The open, four-sided design provides plenty of attachment points for the grasping tendrils of your bean plants. Its height is also a major advantage, giving ambitious scarlet runner beans the vertical space they crave. Think of this as a "buy once, cry once" option. The upfront cost is higher than bamboo or simple wire, but you won’t be replacing it next season or worrying about it collapsing during a mid-August thunderstorm. It’s perfect for a prominent spot in a potager or kitchen garden where looks matter as much as yield.
Panacea Products Bamboo Teepee for Classic Look
There’s a reason the bamboo teepee is a garden classic: it works, it’s affordable, and it’s easy to set up. You simply stake the bamboo poles into the ground in a circle and lash them together at the top. This A-frame structure is inherently stable and provides a 360-degree climbing surface for your beans.
The primary tradeoff here is longevity. A bamboo teepee will get you through a season or two, but it will eventually weather and break down, especially at the ground contact points. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. For a beginner, it’s a low-risk way to try vertical growing without a big financial commitment. You can see if you even like growing runner beans before investing in a more permanent structure. The natural look also blends seamlessly into any garden aesthetic.
Burpee Steel Core Obelisk for Sturdy Support
An obelisk offers a slightly different profile than a tuteur or teepee, often with a more compact footprint that tapers toward the top. The Burpee Steel Core model is a great example of a tough, reliable option. The steel core provides rigidity, while the plastic coating protects it from the elements and prevents it from getting too hot and scorching your vines in the summer sun.
This structure is ideal for smaller spaces or even large containers. Its design naturally encourages the vines to grow inward and upward, creating a dense, productive column of foliage and flowers. This contained growth can make it easier to manage than a wider teepee. The key is to ensure it’s anchored well, as a fully loaded obelisk can become top-heavy and act like a sail in high winds. Pushing the legs deep into the soil is critical for season-long stability.
HOSS Tools Tall Expandable Pea Trellis System
Don’t let the name fool you; this system is fantastic for beans. The HOSS trellis is less of a single "tower" and more of a modular system for creating a long, vertical wall of green. It consists of metal T-posts and durable netting, which you can configure to the length of your garden bed.
This is the system for the gardener thinking about future expansion. You can start with a short 8-foot section this year and easily add more sections in the years to come. It’s incredibly practical for row planting and makes harvesting feel like you’re shopping in a grocery aisle. The main consideration is that it creates a two-sided wall, not a 360-degree tower. This makes it perfect for the edge of a garden bed but less suited for a central feature.
Luster Leaf Trellis Netting for Custom Setups
Sometimes the best solution is the one you build yourself. Trellis netting is the key component for countless DIY support systems. It’s a lightweight, durable plastic or nylon mesh that you can stretch between any upright supports you have on hand—T-posts, wooden stakes, or even the posts of a pergola.
The major advantage is infinite flexibility. You can create an A-frame, a vertical wall, or even a tunnel by building a simple frame and stretching the netting over it. This is the most budget-friendly option, but it requires the most work from you. You are responsible for creating a structure that is strong enough to support the final weight of the plants. A common beginner mistake is underestimating this; a wall of mature bean vines heavy with rain can easily snap flimsy wooden stakes.
Glamos Wire Fan Trellis for Wall Placements
If you’re short on garden bed space, look to your vertical surfaces. A fan trellis is designed to be placed flat against a wall, a sturdy fence, or the side of a shed. This allows you to grow a huge amount of food in a very small ground footprint, turning an unused, sunny wall into a productive part of your garden.
The design provides a wide base that tapers toward the top, giving the vines plenty of room to spread out as they climb. The main tradeoff is access. You can only harvest from the front, which can make it tricky to find every last bean pod. However, for space-saving efficiency, it’s hard to beat. Just ensure the wall you choose gets at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight.
Training Vines on Your New Bean Tower System
Your new tower won’t do any good if the beans don’t find it. When the seedlings are about 4-6 inches tall and have started sending out their first wiry tendrils, it’s time to intervene. Gently guide these first runners toward the base of the trellis and loosely wrap them around the support. Don’t force them or tie them tightly; you just need to show them the way.
You may need to do this for a few days, checking on them and tucking in any stray vines that are trying to wander off. Once they get a solid hold, their natural climbing instinct will take over. The vines will twine themselves counter-clockwise around the support and begin their rapid ascent.
From there, your main job is to occasionally guide any wayward stems back toward the structure to keep the plant contained and climbing upward. If you see a vine reaching out into a walkway, just gently tuck it back into the main body of the plant. A little guidance early on ensures the plant’s energy is focused on vertical growth, which is exactly what leads to a successful, easy-to-manage, and heavy-yielding harvest.
Choosing the right tower for your scarlet runner beans is a simple decision that pays huge dividends all season long. Whether you prioritize aesthetics, budget, or long-term durability, the goal is the same: get those vines climbing. A strong support system is the foundation for healthy plants, a bountiful harvest, and a far more enjoyable gardening experience.
