Scottish growing tool

Radish Variety Selector: Which One For Your Garden

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

If: Fast salad radish, sown February to September → I can pull it within a day or two of it being ready or Fast salad radish, sown February to September → Not sure, just give me the safest all-round choice or Not sure, just give me the safest all-round choice

Scarlet GlobeAGM

The plain, dependable choice: round red roots, white flesh, mild flavour, ready in about four weeks. It is the only variety here with AGM confirmed on its own plant page as well as the general list, and it carries the widest published pest and disease list of any radish here, not because it is more susceptible, but because it is simply the best-documented plant. That makes it the safe default where you want a well-characterised variety rather than a specialist one.

If: Fast salad radish, sown February to September → My schedule sometimes slips by a few days

Amethyst

The purple-skinned option, credited on the general radish list as slow to turn woody, useful if your sowing-to-harvest gap sometimes slips by a few days. That claim is not repeated on its own individual plant page, which also carries no AGM badge, even though Amethyst does carry the AGM tag on the general list. Scarlet Globe is the only variety here confirmed AGM twice over.

If: Fast salad radish, sown February to September → I might miss the window by more than a couple of days

Ilka

A Russian heirloom not listed by RHS at all, growing to a diameter of 7.5cm without becoming pithy, noticeably more forgiving than the roughly 2.5cm size ordinary salad radish is normally pulled at. It genuinely extends the forgiveness option beyond Amethyst if missing the harvest window by more than a couple of days is a real risk for you, though as less common heirloom seed it is worth checking catalogue availability before planning a whole bed around it.

If: Fast salad radish, sown February to September → I want the fastest variety to fit an extra sowing into a tight succession plan

French Breakfast 4 Francis

The fastest variety in the comparison by a clear margin: it matures in only 21 days, about a week quicker than Scarlet Globe or Amethyst, and has high tolerance to summer heat. The speed matters more than the heat tolerance here, a 21-day variety fits an extra sowing or two into the same February to September window a 28-day variety cannot match. It carries an AGM tag on the general list but not on its own individual plant page.

If: Winter radish, sown July to August only → The best-documented winter radish or Winter radish, sown July to August only → Not sure, just give me the safest all-round choice

Black Spanish Round

Round, with black skin and white flesh, a late-maturing heritage annual radish harvested from November, and the winter variety with the most published detail behind it. It is not AGM: neither RHS's general radish page nor Black Spanish Round's individual variety listing carries the AGM tag. It remains the better-sourced of the two winter options.

If: Winter radish, sown July to August only → A second, larger-rooted variety to grow for variety

China Rose

A synonym of 'Rose d'Hiver de Chine', described only as medium to large oblong, tasty roots, essentially the full extent of what is published about it directly. It is not AGM. If you want a winter radish with real depth behind it, Black Spanish Round is the better-supported choice; China Rose is worth growing as a second, larger-rooted option for variety, but there is less published detail to stand behind for it specifically.

Answer these as a quick wizard instead →

Radish growing guide →Full Radish varieties comparison →