British Pop Runner
(Runner – Phaseolus coccineus) Bred by Adaptive Seeds and introduced 2017 in the Adaptive Seeds store. British pop is a mix, or “grex”, of modern varieties of runner beans. Its original parentage is the Tenderstar, Prizewinner, White Emergo, and Polestar runner beans. Adaptive Seeds explains that, “The lavender purple color probably came originally from Prizewinner. However the mix is freely cross-pollinating so the purple color may contain the genes from many parents.”. (Adaptive Seeds, accessed 2025) Its main use is for the edible pods.
“A genetically diverse population of edible-pod type runner beans from the British Isles. We have loved growing runner beans from across the pond for some time now and with so many good ones in our trials, we decided to let the best coalesce into one big British Pop mix. Our favorites in this crossed-up mix are Tenderstar, Prizewinner, White Emergo, and Polestar. We have selected for vigor, yield, long pods, and a diversity of seed coat color – a rainbow of lavender pastels, black, white, tan, and speckles that are hard to describe. While the long and tender green pods are the main crop for this variety, the fresh shelled and dry beans themselves are also delicious. Since they are more tolerant of cooler weather conditions than common beans, they may grow back as a “perennial vegetable” if the ground doesn’t freeze too deeply in winter.” 1 (Adaptive Seeds, accessed 2025)
“We made the original mix, let it cross and then released it as British Pop back in 2017. Since then it has been planted and grown as breeding population that is allowed to freely cross for many generations.” (Adaptive Seeds, 2025)
Days to Maturity: 70-90 days