Zea mays
Amero ornamental corn, decorative corn, jewel corn: each cob is a surprise. Since pollen from one plant fertilizes the silks of another, a single cob bears kernels in different colors—red, yellow, purple, sometimes pearlescent or marbled. No two are quite alike, and that is what gives them their decorative charm.
Characteristics:
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Multicolored cobs: red, yellow, and purple kernels on the same cob, with shades that are always different.
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Graphic growth habit: tall stalks that structure a flower bed or create a summer plant screen.
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Long-lasting storage: once dried, the cobs retain their colors for years.
Sowing advice:
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Exposure: full sun, with plenty of warmth.
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Soil: rich, loose, moist, and well drained. Corn is a very nitrogen-hungry plant, so a generous addition of compost is genuinely beneficial. Wait until the soil has warmed to at least 15 °C; sowing in cold soil will cause the seeds to rot.
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Method: no stratification. Sow directly in the ground after the last frosts, at a depth of 3 cm. Important: sow in a block of several closely spaced rows rather than in a single line—corn is wind-pollinated, and an isolated row produces cobs that are half empty. See how to sow your seeds.
Care advice:
- Water regularly, especially during flowering and cob formation, when a lack of water directly results in missing kernels.
- Earth up the base of the plants to stabilize them: their adventitious roots will anchor themselves in the soil.
Harvesting advice:
- Harvest late, when the husks are thoroughly dry and papery and the kernels are hard. Peel back the leaves to form a pretty collar, then hang the cobs to dry in a well-ventilated place.
Beneficial combinations:
Benefits for biodiversity:
- Its tall stalks create shelter and shade appreciated by beneficial insects in the vegetable garden during the height of summer.
- Its kernels, left on the stalks or put outside in winter, feed seed-eating birds.
Uses:
- Autumn decorations, arrangements, wreaths, and dried bouquets. Whole cobs can be hung up or placed in a basket as a seasonal table decoration.
Saving your own seeds:
Shell a thoroughly dry cob by hand. Caution: corn crosses very easily with all other corn varieties within several hundred meters, as it is wind-pollinated. To keep the variety pure, isolate your seed plants or stagger the flowering dates. See how to save your seeds.
Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for all living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Auvergne volcanoes, we choose open-pollinated, non-hybrid varieties, tested for their germination rate, carefully sorted and packaged, with no chemical treatment. Our conviction: to restore gardeners’ ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.
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