Do Beans Cross Pollinate?

Bean flowers are perfect and self-fertile, meaning they can pollinate themselves. While bees will visit bean flowers, cross pollination does not happen very easily. Different bean varieties only need to be separated by 10-20ft to avoid cross-pollination.

Can you grow different beans together?

Beans are self-pollinating and pollination usually happens even before the blossom opens. So they are less likely to cross-pollinate even when growing close to each other. However, to be on the safe side, try to plant different varieties of beans at least 10 feet from one another if you are saving bean seeds.

How do you keep beans from cross pollinating?

To prevent cross pollination, you would need to plant different varieties 100 yards (91 m.) or more apart. This is normally not possible in the home garden. Instead, you can select a bloom that you will later collect seeds from the fruit or seedpod.