Celeriac's problem in a Scottish garden is time. The root needs six to eight months from sowing to something worth lifting, and a season that starts late or is interrupted by a cold snap can leave you with a fist-sized knob instead of a dense, dinner-plate root. Choosing the right variety is one of the few things you can do about that.
Quick answer
Asterix for a short season: it reaches cropping size earliest. Ibis if boltingA plant switching early into flowering and seed production, usually triggered by stress, after which leaves, roots or bulbs turn bitter or unusable. Full page → after a cold snap is your bigger worry. Prinz or Monarch where the season runs long enough for bigger roots and good storage.
What Scotland means for the choice
Celeriac is sown indoors under heat in February or March, and planted out in late May or early June, so every week counts. Two things decide the variety: how quickly it reaches a usable size, and how well it resists bolting, which is usually set off by young plants being chilled soon after planting out. Planting-out dates vary by a few weeks between a sheltered Central Belt garden and an exposed upland or northern one; our Scottish frost dates page gives your area. The celeriac growing guide covers sowing, planting out, feeding and storing.
The varieties compared
The RHS recommends Asterix, Prinz, Ibis and Monarch with its Award of Garden Merit (AGMThe RHS's Award of Garden Merit: a UK-wide trials award for reliable performance, not a Scotland-specific recommendation. Full definition →), a UK-wide award rather than a Scottish one. Brilliant and Giant Prague don't hold the award. All are rated H4The RHS's H1a–H7 scale for how much cold a plant can survive outdoors, H1a being tender indoor-only and H7 hardy anywhere in the UK. Full definition →.
| Variety | Ready from | Bolting and disease | Root and flavour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asterix | Earliest to reach cropping size | Good resistance to disease and bolting | — |
| Prinz | September | Resistant to leaf disease and bolting | Large, round, crisp white flesh, strong celery flavour |
| Ibis | October | Bolt hardy | Fast-growing smooth white globes, nutty celery flavour, stands and stores well |
| Monarch | September | None named | Flatter and smooth, subtle nutty flavour, stores well |
| Brilliant | — | None named | Smooth, white flesh that doesn't discolour, stores well |
| Giant Prague | — | None named | Heirloom from 1871, vigorous, stores well |
Which one for your situation
A short season, or a sowing that slipped into March: Asterix. It reaches cropping size earliest of the six and has good resistance to disease and bolting, which gives it the best chance of a worthwhile root when time is short.
Worried about bolting: Ibis. It's bolt hardy, fast-growing, and stands and stores well. The trade-off is timing: it's ready from October, a few weeks after Prinz and Monarch, so it suits a garden where bolting is the bigger risk than running out of season.
Where the season runs long enough: Prinz or Monarch. Both are ready from September. Prinz gives large roots with crisp white flesh and a strong flavour, and resists leaf disease and bolting. Monarch has a subtler, nutty flavour and stores well, but no resistance is claimed for it, so it suits a sheltered, reliably timed sowing better than a marginal one.
Brilliant and Giant Prague are for a particular reason rather than a general Scottish choice. Brilliant's flesh doesn't discolour once cut, handy if you prepare it ahead for mash or gratin. Giant Prague is an 1871 heirloom, for anyone who enjoys growing a variety with history. Neither is named for bolt resistance or earliness.
Alabastor, not on the RHS list, has good flavour and is less prone to bolting, a fallback if you can't get seed of the others.
Whatever you grow, young plants are a target for slugs and snails, and celery leaf mining fly can blister the leaves of any variety. More on bolting is on the bolting page.
Common questions
Which celeriac is most resistant to bolting?
Ibis is bolt hardy, and Asterix and Prinz are also described as resistant to bolting. Monarch, Brilliant and Giant Prague aren't named for it. Whatever you grow, don't plant out before late May or early June, because chilled young plants are the ones that bolt.
Do any celeriac varieties mature faster?
Asterix reaches cropping size earliest. Prinz and Monarch are ready from September, a few weeks ahead of Ibis, which is ready from October.
Is it worth growing Brilliant or Giant Prague?
Only for a particular reason: Brilliant's flesh doesn't discolour once cut, and Giant Prague is an 1871 heirloom. Neither is named for earliness or bolt resistance, which matter most here.
Sources
Show the 7 sources
- How to grow Celeriac: General variety list (all six named cultivarsA plant variety that arose or was bred under cultivation and is kept true by deliberate propagation, rather than a naturally occurring wild species. Full definition → with descriptions and AGM status), sowing/transplant/harvest timing, pest and disease list
- Apium graveolens var. rapaceum 'Prinz': AGM status, hardiness (H4), harvest timing (from September), flavour/root description, pest susceptibility list
- Apium graveolens var. rapaceum 'Ibis': AGM status, hardiness (H4), "bolt hardy" and storage claim, harvest timing (from October), flavour/root description
- Apium graveolens var. rapaceum 'Monarch': AGM status, hardiness (H4), harvest timing (from September), flavour/root description, storage claim
- Apium graveolens var. rapaceum 'Brilliant': hardiness (H4), non-discolouring flesh claim, storage claim
- Apium graveolens var. rapaceum 'Giant Prague': hardiness (H4), heirloom (1871) origin, root description, storage claim
- How to grow celeriac: Alabastor: good flavour and less prone to bolting