Frequently bought together

Quick basket

Your basket is empty

Grow better plants
Happy, Healthy Plants Guaranteed
Expertly Grown in the UK
Carefully Hand Delivered
Happy, Healthy Plants Guaranteed
Expertly Grown in the UK
Carefully Hand Delivered

Shop the winter sale

winter-sale

Sweetcorn 'Earlibird' Extra Sweet Plants

Award winning, super sweet corn

Grown by Josh

South Downs National Park

Choose your size

4 options

Choose your size

Sweetcorn 'Earlibird' Extra Sweet Plants Vegetables
Sweetcorn 'Earlibird' Extra Sweet Plants Vegetables
Sweetcorn 'Earlibird' Extra Sweet Plants Vegetables
Sweetcorn 'Earlibird' Extra Sweet Plants Vegetables

£10

Out of stock

Perfectly happy plants, or your money back

Specialist overnight plant delivery

The highlights

  • The earliest of the supersweet varieties
  • Harvest from July to October
  • Grow in grids in a sunny position
  • RHS Award of Garden Merit

Description

  • An award winning sweetcorn that crops earlier than any other supersweet variety
  • Perfect for grilling, barbecues and baking
  • Grow in grids in raised beds, allotments or borders
  • RHS Award of Garden Merit winner
  • Plant out in May and harvest from July to October
  • Premium sweetcorn plants grown on a family run farm in Lancashire and sent to you at the best possible time for planting
  • Each plant gives you one or two super sweet cobs measuring up to 20cm
  • As this is a ‘Supersweet’ type, avoid growing next to other varieties to prevent cross pollination if you want the cobs to retain their sweet taste
  • Easy to grow and care for, with good tolerance to cold soil - you should see your first crop within 8-12 weeks

What To Expect

Supplied as:

Strip of 10 Plants
Young plants ready to pot on before planting out
Strip of 10 Plants (Triple Pack)
Young plants ready to pot on before planting out
Strip of 10 Plants (Six Pack)
Young plants ready to pot on before planting out
Strip of 10 Plants (Nine Pack)
Young plants ready to pot on before planting out

Height on arrival:

Eventual height:

1-1.25m
1-1.25m
1-1.25m
1-1.25m

Eventual spread:

45cm
Plants spread approx 45cm
45cm
Plants spread approx 45cm
45cm
Plants spread approx 45cm
45cm
Plants spread approx 45cm

Tasting notes:

Super sweet
Super sweet
Super sweet
Super sweet

Time to first crop:

8-12 weeks
The cobs will be ready to harvest when the tassels (the fibrous ends (looks a bit like a horses tail)) become dark brown and die off. You can always find out if the corn is ready by peeling back the husk slightly and squeezing one of the kernels with your finger nails. If the liquid is watery, it is not ready. If it is creamy, then it is ripe. If there is not much liquid at all and it is more like a paste, then it is too mature
8-12 weeks
The cobs will be ready to harvest when the tassels (the fibrous ends (looks a bit like a horses tail)) become dark brown and die off. You can always find out if the corn is ready by peeling back the husk slightly and squeezing one of the kernels with your finger nails. If the liquid is watery, it is not ready. If it is creamy, then it is ripe. If there is not much liquid at all and it is more like a paste, then it is too mature
8-12 weeks
The cobs will be ready to harvest when the tassels (the fibrous ends (looks a bit like a horses tail)) become dark brown and die off. You can always find out if the corn is ready by peeling back the husk slightly and squeezing one of the kernels with your finger nails. If the liquid is watery, it is not ready. If it is creamy, then it is ripe. If there is not much liquid at all and it is more like a paste, then it is too mature
8-12 weeks
The cobs will be ready to harvest when the tassels (the fibrous ends (looks a bit like a horses tail)) become dark brown and die off. You can always find out if the corn is ready by peeling back the husk slightly and squeezing one of the kernels with your finger nails. If the liquid is watery, it is not ready. If it is creamy, then it is ripe. If there is not much liquid at all and it is more like a paste, then it is too mature

Habit:

Columnar upright
Corn grows tall and upright.
Columnar upright
Corn grows tall and upright.
Columnar upright
Corn grows tall and upright.
Columnar upright
Corn grows tall and upright.

Hardiness:

Hardy annual
H2 - tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5). Plant out after the last frost.
Hardy annual
H2 - tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5). Plant out after the last frost.
Hardy annual
H2 - tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5). Plant out after the last frost.
Hardy annual
H2 - tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5). Plant out after the last frost.

Uses:

Grill, bake or barbecue
Grill, bake or barbecue
Grill, bake or barbecue
Grill, bake or barbecue

Rootstock:

Spacing:

45cm
Plant corn in grids of 3x3 at an equal distance of 45cm apart instead of rows. Corn needs to cross pollinate by the wind to produce big and delicious fruit, and arranging them into a grid is the optimal way to do this.
45cm
Plant corn in grids of 3x3 at an equal distance of 45cm apart instead of rows. Corn needs to cross pollinate by the wind to produce big and delicious fruit, and arranging them into a grid is the optimal way to do this.
45cm
Plant corn in grids of 3x3 at an equal distance of 45cm apart instead of rows. Corn needs to cross pollinate by the wind to produce big and delicious fruit, and arranging them into a grid is the optimal way to do this.
45cm
Plant corn in grids of 3x3 at an equal distance of 45cm apart instead of rows. Corn needs to cross pollinate by the wind to produce big and delicious fruit, and arranging them into a grid is the optimal way to do this.

How To Grow

Good pest and disease resistance

When sweetcorn plants are still young seedlings they can become prey to birds, slugs and snails. To prevent damage from birds the best defence is a fine horticultural fleece. Birds will generally not try to eat the plant as it grows larger. The fleece will have to be taken off as the plant grows larger to promote pollination. For slugs and snails, it is important to keep the area around the plant debris free and as dry as possible, especially at night as slugs and snails love damp conditions. You can use barriers such as egg shells or copper wire to surround the plant to prevent slugs and snails reaching the leaves.

Water well

Keep the soil consistently moist rather than allowing it to dry out. During dry spells, water well, once or twice a week.

Full sun

Sweetcorn plants require 6-8 hours of direct sunlight every day. Position in a sheltered space, protected against chilling winds for best growth.

Any fertile, well-draining soil

Thrives in any well-drained soil. If your soil is particularly clay-heavy and/or often becomes waterlogged then you can improve the drainage by adding in plenty of organic matter such as garden compost as well as some perlite or gravel.

Feed regularly

Once the flowers emerge feed the plants with a high-potash fertiliser such as liquid tomato feed every fortnight

Planting Calendar

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
  • Best time to plant
  • Harvest
  • Flower

South Downs National Park

Meet Josh

Slow grown veg from the sunny South Downs

Our vegetable plants are sown on a family farm in Lancashire, then nurtured into strong young plants by Josh in the sunny South Downs before they rock up in your garden. By selecting only the strongest and tastiest varieties, Josh makes sure you get a headstart on your plot, with impressive crops and no waste.

What customers say about us

We do our best to provide you the best experience ever

Growing with Roots

Good to know

Our plants are grown 
in the UK

Specialist UK growers we know and trust grow your plants the traditional way, with organic fertiliser and biological pest control. They pick only the healthiest plants for you, professionally pruning them so that they’ll grow strong and well shaped.

Our plants are delivered overnight

Your plants are sent to you fresh from the field in our plastic free box that’s specially designed to hold them tight, then securely delivered by specialist plant couriers - straight from the grower to your garden within 
24 hours.

We're here to help at every step

We want your plants to have a long and healthy life. Expect easy-to-follow grow guides and videos devised by our team 
of experts.

Perfect plants, guaranteed

We’re confident that you’ll be delighted 
with your new plants. Need help? Alice and her team are here to guarantee you’re 
perfectly happy.

Digging deep to answer your questions

How do I know I'm getting quality plants?

All of our plants are grown in specialist nurseries with the highest standards of plant care and sustainability. We guarantee you'll love them as much as we do! Don't just take our word for it - we've got thousands of great reviews on Trustpilot.

When will I get my plants?

The delivery timescale for each plant is on the web page (near the 'add to basket's button). You'll receive a dispatch email with an exact delivery date once your plants are on their way, so you can get the garden ready.

How will my plants be packed and delivered?

We send all of our orders through a courier network designed to handle plants. Specialist equipment ensures that no plants will be damaged during the packing process and every order is carefully finished and checked by plant-loving humans. Your plants will arrive in the most sustainable packaging possible with minimal to no plastic used.

Where do you deliver?

We deliver to anywhere in Mainland UK for our standard delivery cost. We are able to deliver most plants to Highlands and non UK mainland however this will be at an additional cost. This will be calculated at the checkout. Please note, deliveries to these locations will take longer. Unfortunately, we are not able to deliver to Northern Ireland at present.

Ask the grower

One of our trusted team will get back to you via email
Fighting plastic waste
Delivering fresh from the nursery
Supporting UK growers