I grow them. They have more of a mild lima taste if allowed to dry on the vine. Mine will make in the spring and fall from the same vines. My friend says they will winter over which I haven't tried.

I grow them I have a couple of bush varieties one white and one speckled called dixie white and dixie speckled and I have a vining vaiety. They are the same family as limas so will readily cross with other limas. The difference is the bean is smaller and fatter than the standard lima. I prefer the taste of the white butter pea over most white butter beans but I like the colored butterbeans better than the colored or speckeld butter pea.

Thanks, I was just curious. I may try them.

I grow the Dixie Speckled Butterpea. They have been very productive for me. If you don't keep them picked they will easily reseed themselves. I have volunteers every Spring. I personally prefer the taste of speckled or colored limas over that of the white ones.

As Roger stated both are very good. The speckled like most colored limas handles adverse conditions better than the white. They are in a group usually called potato limas as they are thick seeded rather tha flat seeded. The Dixies either white or speckled have small vines. Biggest drawback is the pods are small and tedious to pick. The only other white potato lima that is commercially available is the Baby Fordhook.I prefer them green shelled, but they make a satisfactory dry lima.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dixie Speckled Butterpea

Farmerdill, I have never heard them called potato limas. Is the baby fordhook bush or vining? The vining butterpea I have came from Dr. Bradshaw a Clemson University it is called the Whitfield Butterpea, It is very prolific as with most all limas and the vines will easily grow to 10-12ft. I grow them on 7ft poles and they will reach the top and drape over half way down. I sometimes cut out the top growth to limit the bulk of the vines after harvest in Aug and the new growth will produce a late fall crop. As you said a draw back would be the small pods which contain 2-3 seeds per pod.

Thanks for the link Farmerdilla. I am fixing to check it out.

Rodger,the Baby Fordhook is a small bush lima. about half to 2/3 the size of the the big Fordhooks. White. Again the major problem is the small pods which make for tedious picking. They are not quite as round as the butterpeas, but thicker than Hendersons.
I have not encountered the vining type but am experimenting with a cross between the Dixie Speckled Butterpea and Willow Leaf. An almost black vining type, still get some buff and speckled ones so I am trying to rogue them out

Here is a link that might be useful: Baby Fordhook

Can anyone tell me where to get white running butter pea seeds? Your help will be much appreciated. I have been reading the forum and have been looking for them. They must not be listed as just "running butter pea seed" ? I have Googled them and did not get the results I was looking for. I have been led only to English & snow peas. Thanks to all.

"Running" probably refers to climbing. "Dixie White Butterpea" is a popular pole variety; I have listed one of several sources below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Heirloom acres

Kudos to zeedman ! Thank you very much. Will order soon, as it is time to plant. suzie

I love butter peas. My Grandfather grow them in his garden when I was a child.I can find them frozen in the grocerystore however they are expencive.This year Iam going to try growing them myself.

I would be careful with ordering from Heirloom Acres. It is a gamble if your order will come. They have many negative reviews on the Garden Watch Dog, lots of "never got my seeds" reviews. Gardenweb won't allow links to the reviews, so you'll have to Google it.
Remy

I grew the speckled Dixie Butterpeas this year. Now that I have grown them, I think I know where the name came from. The plant looks like a lima bean, as does the pod. But, the seed itself looks for more like a cowpea.

They are harder to pick than cowpeas because peas are borne high above the foliage whereas the butterpeas are produced all along the bloom stalk and hide down among the leaves of the plant. And, BPs are more difficult to shell than cowpeas. But, they have a much longer season of production. It seems to me that butterpeas are more forgiving if you are slow to pick, too. Cowpeas go from just right to overripe much faster in my experience.