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Zea mays 'Double Red'

sweetcorn 'Double Red'

This variety is beautiful – the plant itself has red stalks and husks and the male flowers, or tassels, are also tinted red. The sweetcorn kernels are white and red (sometimes almost purple), and the colour distribution may vary across cobs. The taste is sweet and delicious when fresh, but it can also be dried for cornmeal and flour. This is one of the few red sweetcorns that matures quickly enough in the short British summers so enjoy some new colour in your veg patch! Expect good yields from short stocky plants. Matures in 80-100 days.

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Ultimate height

1.5–2.5 metres

Time to ultimate height

1 year

Ultimate spread

0.5–1 metres

Chalk

Clay

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Moist but well–drained

pH

Acid, Neutral, Alkaline

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Full sun

Aspect

East–facing or South–facing or West–facing

Exposure

Sheltered

Hardiness
Hardiness ratings
All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets
H1a: under glass all year (>15C)
H1b: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1c: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

Botanical details

Family: Poaceae
Native to GB / Ireland: No
Foliage: Deciduous
Habit: Columnar upright
Genus: A genus of five, large, flowering plants the grass family. The most important species, Zea mays is widely cultivated food crop. Male flowers are borne in large, terminal inflorescences (tassels) and female flowers are hidden in clusters in the leaf axils
Name status: Unresolved

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in a sunny, sheltered spot in soil that has been enriched with well-rotted organic matter. Sweetcorn can tolerate many soil types but prefers well-drained soils with a pH between 5.5 and 7.0. Harvest from July to October. See sweetcorn cultivation for futher information.

Propagation

Sow seeds undercover from mid-spring in pots or modules and then plant out May - June after hardening off and the last frosts have passed. Alternatively sow 'in situ' from late spring to early summer. Always plant in a grid pattern to ensure pollination. See sowing vegetable seeds

Suggested planting locations and garden types

Pruning

No pruning required.

Pests

May be susceptible to damage from birds, slugs, mice and badgers.

Diseases

May be susceptible to smuts which appear as large galls on the cobs and stalks in hot weather.

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