Crop type: Broad Beans
Vicia faba ‘Witkiem’ – Manita
Common name: Bean (broad) ‘Witkiem Manita’
Crop slug: broad-beans
This Allotment Pro editorial draft summarises the cited RHS cultivar profile. Check the source and adjust cultivation decisions for local conditions.RHS cultivar profile
1 - Overview
‘Witkiem Manita’ is a compact broad bean cultivar with an RHS Award of Garden Merit. It is sown in spring for a summer harvest and grows to approximately 1m tall, combining an upright, climbing habit with a relatively narrow spread.
The crop needs full sun and plenty of water while its green pods are setting to achieve a good yield. Its beans are particularly suitable for freezing, making it a useful early-cropping choice where harvests will be stored rather than eaten immediately.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 0.5–1 metre
- Ultimate spread
- 0.1–0.5 metres
- Time to ultimate size
- 1 year
The plant reaches its full size within one growing season. Its approximate 1m height is shorter than many tall broad beans, while the narrow spread helps it fit into an orderly row.
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Chalk, clay, loam and sand
- Moisture
- Moist but well-drained or well-drained
- Soil pH
- Acid, neutral or alkaline
All four listed soil textures and the full pH range are suitable. Fertile soil that retains moisture without remaining waterlogged is preferable, especially because water demand increases as pods form.
4 - Position and hardiness
- Light
- Full sun
- Aspect
- South- or west-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- Hardiness
- H4 — hardy through most of the UK, although grown as an annual crop and protected when sown early
Give ‘Witkiem Manita’ a sunny, sheltered position. Its H4 rating indicates useful cold tolerance, but the profile presents it principally as a spring-sown cultivar for summer cropping.
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
| Season | Flowers | Foliage | Fruit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | White and black | Green | — |
| Summer | White and black | Green | Green |
| Autumn | — | Green | — |
| Winter | — | — | — |
Fragrant black-and-white flowers are listed in spring and summer, with green pods in summer. Green foliage continues into autumn. An em dash means the profile gives no colour for that field and season.
6 - Botanical details
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Native to Great Britain and Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Columnar upright and climbing
- Name status
- Unresolved
Genus
Vicia contains annuals, herbaceous perennials and climbers. Leaves can be simple or divided into many small leaflets and often end in a tendril, while pea-like flowers in yellow, purple, white or pink are carried in small stem clusters or larger upright sprays.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Grow in fertile, moist but well-drained soil in full sun and shelter. The profile permits October or November sowing with cloche protection for an early harvest, February sowing in pots in a cold greenhouse, or direct outdoor sowing in March and April. As this cultivar is especially recommended for spring sowing, keep it well watered when pods are setting and support the upright stems if needed.
Propagation
Propagate by seed. Raise plants in pots under protection or sow directly into their final outdoor rows.
Suggested locations
The fragrant flowers are included by the RHS as a nectar and pollen source for bees and other pollinating insects.
- Patio and container plants
- Wildlife gardens
Pruning
Pinch out the shoot tips after the lowest flowers have formed pods. This can delay and reduce black bean aphid infestation and help improve the bean yield.
Pests
The profile lists possible susceptibility to pea and bean weevil and black bean aphid. Stored seed may be affected by broad bean seed beetle.
Diseases
‘Witkiem Manita’ may be susceptible to broad bean rust and broad bean chocolate spot. Maintain airflow and monitor foliage and pods, particularly in damp conditions.