Lima Bean is grown for its pods, ready to pick about 75 days after sowing. It's hardy across USDA zones 3 through 11. Its summer flowers are a moderate draw for honeybees and native bees, even though the pods are the prize. A nitrogen-fixer, it draws nitrogen from the air and feeds it back to the soil — turn it under or leave the roots in place, and the next planting inherits a richer bed.
Lima Bean — the short answer
Lima Bean: grown in zones 3–11, full sun, pH 4.5–8.4, about 75 days to maturity.
- USDA zones
- 3–11
- Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
- Soil pH
- 4.5–8.4
- FAO ECOCROP
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Days to Maturity
- 75 days
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
Score Lima Bean on your exact land.
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What Lima Bean is
Lima Bean reaches around two feet at maturity. It blooms white in summer.
How to grow Lima Bean
Lima Bean grows in USDA zones 3 through 11 and is ready to harvest about 75 days after planting. Lima Bean does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 4.5 to 8.4, on well-drained ground. It needs around 1,800 growing degree days to mature and a growing season of at least 60 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
3-11
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
4.5 - 8.4
FAO ECOCROP
Sun
Full Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Minimum Growing Temperature
55.4°F
Below this it stops growing rather than dies — a pace limit, not a survival limit.
FAO ECOCROP
Days to Maturity
75 days
Growable Ground plant catalog
GDD Required
1800+
Growing degree-days of accumulated warmth it needs to mature — humid summers reach this faster than cool coastal ones.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
2 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
60+
The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant lima bean in full sun with at least 6 hours of direct sun, once the soil has warmed and frost risk has passed.
Match the soil
Lima Bean prefers pH 4.5 to 8.4 (FAO ECOCROP). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band. It fixes its own nitrogen, so skip the high-nitrogen feed and instead dust the seed with a matching rhizobium inoculant at sowing.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Harvest at maturity
Lima Bean is ready about 75 days after sowing. Pick the pods young and tender, before the seeds inside fully swell.
Where Lima Bean thrives
On hardiness alone, lima bean grows across most of the country — its range (USDA zones 3 through 11) is unusually wide. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 3–11 spans average winter lows from -40°F to 50°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 48 outright and splits 3 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 3–11·Where Lima Bean growsOpen map →
Where Lima Bean stands, state by state
Lima Bean is rated for zones 3–11 — a cold floor USDA puts at -40 to -30°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 48 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 3 more, and 0 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 3–11
48 states
3 of 48 shown
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Lima Bean
Growing guides for lima bean
In rotation planning, lima bean counts as a Legume — beds recover best when legume crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Related plants in vegetable
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — lima bean isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Lima Bean offers moderate value to bees and other pollinators.
Before you harvest lima bean, know your soil
Anything you grow to eat takes up what's in the ground it grows in, so it's worth knowing what's documented near you before you plant lima bean for food. Our free screen reads 9 federal source types across roughly 1.8M indexed sites and shows which sit near your address and which way they drain. It's a screening estimate from public records and proximity — not a soil test — so a nearby record means a soil test is worth it, not that your soil is unsafe.
Your land is one point inside Lima Bean's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Lima Bean will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether lima bean actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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How we know this about Lima Bean
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•USDA PHZM•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Lima Bean in my zone?
Lima Bean grows in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 11 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
How long does Lima Bean take to grow?
Lima Bean is ready to harvest about 75 days after planting. Your local frost dates and soil temperature move that window earlier or later.
When should you plant Lima Bean?
Most growers plant lima bean after the last spring frost, once the soil has warmed, leaving enough of the season for its 60-day frost-free need. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Lima Bean need?
Lima Bean needs full sun — a spot that catches at least 6 hours of direct summer sun a day. In more shade it still grows, but usually gives a smaller, later crop. The catch is that a yard rarely gets even light everywhere — a fence, the house, or one tall tree can quietly take those hours. A Growable Ground report reads the real sun-hours across your land, canopy and buildings included, so you can pick the brightest bed before you plant.
What soil does Lima Bean need?
Lima Bean prefers soil pH 4.5 to 8.4, on well-drained ground (FAO ECOCROP). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Lima Bean attract pollinators?
Yes — lima bean's flowers are a solid nectar source for honeybees and native bees.
Is Lima Bean safe for pets?
Lima Bean is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)