The corn in the can or in the freezer section of the supermarket is typically golden yellow in color. But that's not the end of the spectrum of colors in sweet corn. In addition to the colors, many varieties differ in terms of their ripening and harvest time, cob size, height and disease resistance.
Which types of sweet corn are particularly recommended?
Popular and recommended sweet corn varieties are 'Golden Bantam', 'Damaun', 'True Gold' and 'Mezdi'. Strikingly colored varieties include 'Double Red', 'Hookers Sweet Indian', 'Jade Blue' and 'Luther Hill'. Variegated varieties such as 'Rainbow Inka', 'Anasazi Sweet', 'Black Aztek', 'Festivity', 'Mosaic' and 'Sweet Red' are also interesting.
The most famous variety among hobby gardeners: 'Golden Bantam'
If you start growing sweet corn, you definitely won't go wrong with the 'Golden Bantam' variety. This variety has proven itself well over the decades. It was created around 1900. Its advantages include the excellent quality of its cobs, the pleasant taste and the willingness to develop secondary shoots, which also like to form cobs.
These varieties have also proven themselves
They don't look spectacular, but the following varieties have also proven themselves with their outstanding properties:
- ‘Damaun’: large, yellow cobs, very sweet
- ‘True Gold’: golden yellow cobs, long-lasting sweetness, up to 2 m tall
- ‘Mezdi’: extra sweet, tall growth
Strikingly colored, monochromatic varieties
The following varieties are particularly impressive because of the pretty color of their seeds or cobs:
- ‘Double Red’: dark red, good aroma
- ‘Hookers Sweet Indian’: black to black-violet depending on ripeness, very aromatic and sweet
- ‘Jade Blue’: bluish, short in stature (suitable for pots)
- 'Luther Hill': white, short in stature (suitable for pots), 5 to 6 cobs per plant
Colorful grain varieties: These sweet corn varieties are quite impressive
Can't get enough of colors? How about these colorful grain specimens?
- ‘Rainbow Inka’: light yellow, blue, black, red, violet
- ‘Anasazi Sweet’: red-yellow
- ‘Black Aztek’: white-purple to black
- ‘Festivity’: yellow, violet, red, white
- ‘Mosaic’: yellow cobs with red stripes
- ‘Sweet Red’: white, red, pink
Which varieties are early and which are late-ripening?
The varieties 'Rainbow Inka' and 'Tramunt' are late-ripening. They need 100 to 110 days to mature. The early ripening varieties are more suitable for our latitudes:
- ‘Damaun’
- ‘Ashworth’
- ‘Early Extra Sweet’ (hybrid)
- ‘Tasty Sweet’ (hybrid)
- ‘Starlite’ (hybrid)
- ‘Sweet Nugget’ (hybrid)
- ‘Sunrise’ (hybrid)
- ‘Orchard Baby’
- 'Yucon Chief' (earliest of all varieties)
- ‘Orchard Baby’
Tip
If you have often had bad luck growing sweet corn, you should plant the particularly disease-resistant variety 'Challenger'.
