Pruning beans?

So, a couple years ago I managed to get a hold of some seeds of Phaseolus polystachios (perennial thicket bean). That year I started a few indoors in pots in spring. They grew slowly, stopped growing entirely when I planted them out, and died the following winter, probably because I planted them in the wrong spot. This year I figured I'd have another go. I sowed them early, so they'd have plenty of time to grow before being planted outside. Way too early, as it turns out, because wow... The longest vines are now well over half a meter long. They've outgrown the sticks I've put for support, and are not showing any signs of slowing down. Rather the opposite. Not sure what I did wrong the first time. Probably the soil was bad or something.

This leads me to my question. If I just leave them to run rampant they'll have taken over the entire room by the time they're due to be planted (I'm exaggerating, but only slightly). Anyways, they'll have made a tangled mess, and separating them from each other and everything else I have growing in that window will be a nightmare. Not to mention the curtain rail... So, does anyone know what happens if you prune beans? Does it work, or will the plants die, or will they just grow two new vines for every one cut at a speed of twenty meters per second? Any input would be very welcome.

From what I've been reading about on the internet, it doesn't seem like it's going to be too hard to prune beans. I found a very complete guide to pruning beans here: https://greg.app/how-to-prune-common-bean/ I hope it is useful!

we’ve got those beans growing wild in a number of places on our property. they get knocked back a few times during the year in various ways but always seem to flower and make pods at the same time. i’m fairly sure they won’t just decide to croak if you need to prune them.

Hello Eino!

If it is a healthy plant and you nip it back a bit, it will put more energy into the root.


One thing you can do if you have a vine plant that you have to move later, you can ask it to vine around a fat cotton string.    Secure the string to the wall around a sunny window or door frame.  Just thumb tacks should be enough.

When you are ready to move the plants, coil up the string and hang in the new place.  

Thanks everyone! I went ahead and did it a couple of days ago, and so far it seems ok. It looks like the bud next to the uppermost remaining leaf will simply make a new vine (though maybe a tiny bit slower) so I might have to do it again later.