[maxie]

Ive give up with these as im in cold wet and windy cumbria and they havent cropped well for 2 or 3 years,i usually grow cobra.
What i was wondering does anyone use a different variety that crops better in the bad summers weve been getting,although ive been getting good crops from dwarfs.

[pdblake]

I grew Blauhilde Purple last year and had a great crop.

[rowan57]

BLue lake was very good last year.

[mumofstig]

Yes it does seem that the purple varieties are more weather resistant.

For the last 3 years they've cropped well on my wind blown site when Cobra has failed completely

[arugula]

The purple ones faired pretty well on our more northerly and certainly windy, coastal site here last year.

[Auntiemogs]

I grew Cosse Violette (purple) last year and they were great.  Even the ones that grew quite large were not stringy and cropped much better than my Blue Lake. 
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Premier-Seeds-Direct/Beans-/_i.html?_fsub=9717829&_sid=79364908&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

[ryetek]

Oh dear! I've just received my Cobra seeds from DTB to try out for the first time. Here's hoping for a better year then.

[Yana]

I got a better yield from the purple climbing ones than I did the green ones. Infact the yellow climbing yellow ones did better than the green ones.
I've gone for the Cossee Violette this year as last year as they seem to do well for everyone else.

[devonbarmygardener]

Climbing french bean 'Isabel' has done well with me for the last 2 years.
Growing them this year too.

They are fairly disease resistant and coped well with the wet summer the last 2 years.

I don't bother growing them in pots to start with, they work really well going straight in the ground late april/may time.

[Wiltshire Worms]

ive got cobra...hopefully down here in the balmy west country they will be ok..did fine last year...its seems about minus 5 at the moment

[maxie]

Looks like ill be trying a purple variety this year then  thanks for the advice.

[Yorkie]

I've always had good results with cobra, except for in the awful weather last year.

[shokkyy]

I've tried Cobra a couple of times and have never done well with them. Last year I grew Blauhilde and Cosse Violette and both did very well, gave me huge crops and stood up very well to the horrible weather. I've still got loads in my freezer and dehydrated in jars.

[mumofstig]

Yana: I got a better yield from the purple climbing ones than I did the green ones

Tis what I've been saying for the last 3 years 

[maxie]

I grew Cosse Violette (purple) last year and they were great.  Even the ones that grew quite large were not stringy and cropped much better than my Blue Lake. 
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Premier-Seeds-Direct/Beans-/_i.html?_fsub=9717829&_sid=79364908&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

Thanks for that link im gonna be ordering from them i think.
I do like the french beans much more than the runners,lightly cooked with just a tiny bit of bite,bootiful, so lets hope for a good crop.