Robert Lobitz Purple Beans - Purple Dove, etc.

[flowerbug]

I've been growing Purple Dove beans for about four years now and they're our favorite fresh eating bean.

I'm looking for any more information people might have beyond what I already know (i.e. that they come from Robert Lobitz via Russ Crow).

Using Russ Crow's web pages I have found these beans are similar or potentially related but I have not yet found any I would consider possible parental beans, this is my list as I currently have it plus some notes about comparison grow outs I've done between four of them last year (2020 growing season).

The following RL beans that are similar in seed coat/pattern (and a few at the end are close but not as related and then the one at the last may be a distant relative). The first grow out of any of these that I did were Purple Dove and they have a bright purple or fuschia color flower. So far of all that I have grown of these beans Purple Dove are my favorite for many reasons.

any marked with [*] i have grown. i need to grow the rest sometime just to check them out.

i do not know the parent beans of Purple Dove but would be happy to learn any details anyone might know.



Bush beans:

Blooming Prairie
Delano (lavender? not sure if it is the same or different than the rest)
Purple Diamond*
Purple Dove*
Purple Rain*
Purple Rose*


Semi-Runner:

Purple Rose Creek
Viola


Honorable Mention:

Chaska Purple


A possible Relative:

Very often I find hints of this bean in Purple Dove and it is quite possible that the brown bean I found in the 2021 grow outs of Purple Dove is related to this bean:

Koronis Three Islands


There are also other hints I find in Purple Dove that show slight streaks so I am trying to find any precursor Robert Lobitz beans that have any similar pattern. I'm not certain yet I have found any beans that go back further.


A Comparison Grow Out:

In 2020 I planted Purple Diamond, Purple Dove, Purple Rain and Purple Rose next to each other in the same garden and determined that they are all distinct beans from each other. These look so much alike in some seeds that you might be fooled by that.

In the end I still preferred Purple Dove for fresh snap eating combined with their use for dry bean production. The pods were thinner and easier to shell, the seeds can be smaller and more compact, they finish sooner, but the biggest difference and most important to me was that the beans were much more tender.

I will continue to do various grow outs to see what happens with Purple Dove compared to any of the above beans. I'll also keep searching for any information about Purple Dove and where it or any possible parental beans might have come from.