Scottish growing tool

Sweetcorn Variety Selector: Which One For Your Garden

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

If: Cold soil in spring, plants are slow to get going → Yes, germination is still the problem

LarkAGM

It's more reliable in cold soil than most Supersweet varieties, a stronger germination claim than Earlibird's, so it's the pick if germination keeps failing even with a cold-tolerant variety already in the ground.

If: Cold soil in spring, plants are slow to get going → No, I just want the earliest, most cold-tolerant option or Cold soil in spring, plants are slow to get going → Not sure, just give me the safest all-round choice or Not sure, just give me the safest all-round choice

EarlibirdAGM

The earliest-maturing Supersweet variety of the group and copes well with cold soil at germination, usually the first thing that goes wrong on a Scottish plot, which stacks the two biggest odds in its favour at once rather than solving only one of them.

If: The whole summer tends to stay short and cool, not just the start

Rising Sun

Reliable even in poor summers, a trait about the whole season staying cool rather than just a slow start, so it addresses a different failure mode to the cold-soil varieties. No RHS plant page or AGM listing exists for it. Northern Xtra Sweet, recommended for colder growing areas, is a similar option with no RHS record either.

If: My soil is poor rather than cold

Mirai PicnicAGM

Its stated tolerance of poorer soil conditions is about general soil fertility, not cold tolerance, a genuinely different problem from the cold-soil trio and worth factoring in on a plot with known poor soil.

If: I've got a warm, sheltered spot and want bigger cobs

OvationAGM

Earns its AGM on cob size and consistency, 20 to 23cm cobs from a vigorous, consistent plant, rather than on any cold-soil or short-season trait, a reasonable choice with a sheltered, south-facing spot warm enough for it.

Answer these as a quick wizard instead →

Sweetcorn growing guide →Full Sweetcorn varieties comparison →