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Saving Cobra bean seeds

CollareddoveCollareddove Posts: 173
in Fruit & veg
I decided, next year, to sow my own, saved Cobra beans, just to see if I could, really.  Having left the beans pods to go brown and dry I have now harvested the beans and am disappointed that ALL the pods have white seeds inside, not the Cobra colour I was expecting.

This year I bought the plants so can't remember noticing the colour of the seeds, probably wouldn't have thought to look anyway.  I wonder if the plants were mislabelled, or if Cobra is F1 and can't save the seeds?

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  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    Cobra isn't an F1 hybrid so it isn't that. The seeds are black so it looks like the plants you bought weren't Cobra after all. If they were tasty though you can use them next year or use the dried beans in soups and stews rather than bin them.
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    Simply Seed has reduced them to 99p, worth a try if you want some seed for next year 
    https://www.simplyseed.co.uk/french-bean-seeds/cobra.html
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    They are white! 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    If you're happy you've got the variety you want, spread them on a tray and leave them over the winter on the floor of your airing cupboard ready for 2024 use.
  • CollareddoveCollareddove Posts: 173
    What do you mean @Lyn, they are white?  Can Cobra seeds be white?

    I have just been into my daughter's garden and picked some of her dried off beans, bought from the same nursery but a different batch, and her seeds are black!
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
     From here - https://www.kingsseeds.com/products/vegetable-seeds/beans/climbing-french-bean-cobra-seeds

    The gardeners choice, Cobra are black seeded for early production.


  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    I'm guessing cobra is just a name given to this type of bean as you can get black and white bean varieties of it. I've only ever grown them with white seeds, producing white seeds.
  • CollareddoveCollareddove Posts: 173
    I wonder why they are 'black seeded for early production'?  @steephill why does the seed colour affect how early the plants produce?
  • diggersjodiggersjo Posts: 172
    I think they are like apple pips and go from white to black when mature...
    Yorkshire, ex Italy and North East coast. Growing too old for it!
  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    I'm not so sure it's a maturity thing but rather a naming confusion. These types are slow to produce seeds and I think the black version is possibly more common for some of its better attributes but other suppliers still use the "cobra" moniker with different beans.
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