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Leeks Variety Selector: Which One For Your Garden

Every recommendation below traces back to our full Leeks varieties comparison — this page is the fast route to one answer for your specific situation, no clicking through required.

If: Cold, exposed, or northerly plot

BanditAGM

Same H5 rating as Oarsman, but the latest maturing of the six, ready from January, so it's still standing and still worth lifting deep into the part of winter that does the most damage to a less hardy crop.

If: Sheltered garden, want the earliest crop

StamfordAGM

An H4 second early, ready from October, for gardeners on a sheltered plot who'd rather start lifting sooner than wait out the full winter.

If: Sheltered garden, want a heritage variety with a local story

Musselburgh

A heritage leek historically associated with the East Lothian town of the same name, very hardy with rust resistance. It's rated H4, the same as Stamford, Porvite, Krypton, and Porbella, and it doesn't carry the AGM, so it sits with the H4 group rather than the higher-rated Oarsman and Bandit.

If: Not sure, just give me the safest all-round choice

OarsmanAGM

It carries the higher H5 hardiness rating and holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit, giving it the widest margin against a hard winter of any variety here. It has no specific rust or bolting resistance recorded, and like the others it's listed as possibly susceptible to rust, so the recommendation rests on hardiness and general merit, not disease resistance.

Answer these as a quick wizard instead →
Leeks growing guide →Full Leeks varieties comparison →

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