Annual Plant · 48 varieties

Sweet Corn

Name: Sweet Corn growing data
Creator: GardenTrack

Zea mays

Poaceae — the same plant family as sorghum, cereal rye, oat, lemongrass and 1 more here. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.

Sweet Corn (Zea mays) is an annual plant. It wants full sun and pH 6–6.5 soil, with about 1 in of water weekly. It matures in about 60–100 days from sowing. Watch for corn earworm and corn smut. Below: its full sourced profile from 7 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.

Sun Full sun

Water Moderate

Matures 60–100 days — from seed from seed

Mature size 5–8 ft

Spacing 8–12 in

Soil pH 6–6.5

Frost Tender

When to plant sweet corntypical · zone 6b

Your zone

…or your ZIP, for your real frost dates

Germinating

Seedlings

Growing

Flowering

Fruit set

Harvest

Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. This calendar assumes the crop is direct sown. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow.

Growing sweet cornevery fact says where it came from

What we will not put a number on

We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.

Site & soil

Sun: Full sun
Soil pH: 6–6.5
Soil texture: Loam, Clay, Well drained
Frost tolerance: Tender

No published figure for the temperature frost starts to hurt it, the temperature that would kill it and a heat limit. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.

The plant

Mature height: 5–8 ft
Mature spread: 1–2 ft
Growth rate: Fastest
Spacing in row: 8–12 in
Between rows: 30–36 in
Planting depth: 1–2 in
Support: Self-supporting
Grown from: Direct sow, Transplant

There is no line here for a container size, because we have no figure to put there. We went looking and wrote down what we read — it is missing on purpose, not because nobody checked.

Water & feeding

Water needs: Moderate
Water per week: 1 in/wk
Critical water: Establishment, Flowering, Fruit set
Feeding: Heavy

Timing & fruiting

Days to maturity: 60–100 days from seed
Harvest cues: Silks visible, Fruit sizing

There is no line here for how many weeks early to start it indoors and how long after the last frost to plant it out, because we have no figure to put there. We went looking and wrote down what we read — it is missing on purpose, not because nobody checked.

Planted again for autumn

Sow by: late Aug typical · zone 6b

60 days to maturity from sowing, counted back from the first frost above. Not published for anywhere in particular: it is your own frost date and this crop's own figure, which is why it works wherever you are. A days-to-maturity figure is a catalog number for a good season rather than a promise, and a cold month moves it.

Edible parts per source: seed.

What tends to go wrongmost-cited first

PestsCorn earwormEuropean corn borerFall armywormCutwormsAphidsFlea beetlesSeed corn maggotSouthern corn rootwormWirewormsJapanese beetle

DiseasesCorn smutCommon rustDamping offSeedling rot

Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.

Companionswhat to plant near sweet corn

TomatoPractical

Corn earworm and tomato fruitworm are the same moth. Side by side, you're setting its table twice.

Companion pairings from university extensions; badge = how strong the evidence is.

Featured varieties48 with their own page

Open one and add it to your garden — it lights up here. The rest of the 48 are in the full list below.

All 48 varietiesthe ones with their own page are linked

Variety	Type	Days	Color	Disease
Allure F1	Synergistic	75	Bicolor	COMMON_RUST
Ambrosia F1	Se Sugary Enhanced	75	Bicolor
American Dream F1	Sh2 Supersweet	77	Bicolor
Argent F1	Se Sugary Enhanced	86	White
Bodacious F1	Se Sugary Enhanced	75	Yellow
Bolt XR F1	Sh2 Supersweet	67	Bicolor
Butter and Sugar F1	Su Normal	73	Bicolor
Country Gentleman Heirloom	Su Normal	90	White
Delectable F1	Se Sugary Enhanced	84	Bicolor
Double Standard	Su Normal	73	Bicolor
Early Sunglow F1	Su Normal	62	Yellow
Eden RMN F1	Sh2 Supersweet	75	White	MDMV NCLB COMMON_RUST
Essence F1	Synergistic	79	Bicolor
Glacial F1	Sh2 Supersweet	75	White
Golden Bantam Heirloom	Open Pollinated	80	Yellow
Honey 'N Pearl F1	Sh2 Supersweet	78	Bicolor
Honey Select F1	Synergistic	79	Yellow
Hooker's Sweet Indian Corn Heirloom	Open Pollinated	75–80	White
Illini Xtra F1	Sh2 Supersweet	85	Yellow
Illusion F1	Synergistic	72	White	COMMON_RUST STEWARTS_WILT
Incredible F1	Se Sugary Enhanced	85	Yellow
Inspiration F1	Sh2 Supersweet	78	Bicolor
Jubilee F1	Su Normal	100	Yellow
Kandy Korn F1	Se Sugary Enhanced	84	Yellow
Kickoff XR F1	Sh2 Supersweet	69	Bicolor
Latte F1	Synergistic	68	Bicolor
Luther Hill Heirloom	Su Normal	82	White
Montauk F1	Synergistic	81	Bicolor
Natural Bright XR F1	Sh2 Supersweet	73	White	COMMON_RUST
Natural Sweet F1	Sh2 Supersweet	74	Bicolor
Nirvana F1	Sh2 Supersweet	74	Bicolor
Peaches and Cream F1	Se Sugary Enhanced	83	Bicolor
Quick Start F1	Synergistic	68	Bicolor
Serendipity F1	Synergistic	82	Bicolor
Signature XR F1	Sh2 Supersweet	72	Bicolor
Silver King F1	Se Sugary Enhanced	80–90	White
Silver Queen F1	Su Normal	88	White
Solstice F1	Sh2 Supersweet	68	Bicolor
Stowell's Evergreen Heirloom	Su Normal	80–100	White
Sugar Buns F1	Se Sugary Enhanced	70	Yellow
Superb MXR F1	Sh2 Supersweet	74	Bicolor
Sweetness F1	Synergistic	68	Bicolor
Tempo XR F1	Sh2 Supersweet	76	Bicolor
Temptress F1	Synergistic	70	Bicolor
Trinity F1	Se Sugary Enhanced	70	Bicolor
Ultra Violet F1	Sh2 Supersweet	80	Bicolor
Vision MXR F1	Sh2 Supersweet	75	Yellow
Xtra Tender 274A F1	Sh2 Supersweet	71	Bicolor

Sources7 cited · 6 organizations

Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
NC State Extension
University of Maryland Extension
University of Minnesota Extension
Utah State University Extension

We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 17 of the 18 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.

Growing more than sweet corn? Browse all crops, or grab the spacing calculator and frost date lookup. The GardenTrack app (now in beta) remembers what you planted and where, then tells you what to do and when. Join the beta →