Ornamental Corn

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Grew some this year for the color of the leaves and was pleasantly surprised by the color of the cobs ? forget the name of the ornamental corn , but am hoping that the seeds will throw back to what I had

beautiful! More corn envy....

Is there anything you didn't grow, PG?

Well there is this stuff ............
Who's PG ? .......but thanks , I just like colors and I'm willing to try to see what I get ? Natures colors can't be replicated ,often  tried by never truly copied ...........so I must plant  

Sorry...PD...typo and I think I have done it before. You know I mean you, don't you?

Yea , I thought that was what you were going for ...........

Oh miyorka!! What a thing of beauty. I love that you are trying all these things and showing us the pictures, I really do. That is incredible, the beautiful colour, wonder how you save it. Have you ever investigated this? Wonder if they dry up and shrivel or stay nice and plump looking, I would imagine ornamental corn is much different than eating corn. I think you should send me a few seeds when you rip it apart, if you do. I would like to try to grow a little bit and see if the offspring comes true to parent. Wonder if it is open pollinated or a hybrid. Can you find out? Seed company information? I think I will grow a little of ornamental corn next year just for the fun of it, I will search out some pretties too! Hated how your night stocks didn't do anything, next year, try again....have a most wonderful day, CynthiaM.

Cynthia  the seeds came from Mckenzie  Seeds , it is  called ""Stars and Stripes "" due to the burgundy stripes that the corn plant leaves get with age .Not sure about the process in regards to drying , or if they are fertile ? but I have to assume that in order to grow a ear of corn some thing had to had happened to make it fertile ? I'll have to dig a bit deeper ...............but if I can get some seeds off of it , I can send you a bunch for sure  ..............there are a bunch more ears left still on the plants so ...... 




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I planted them with my flowers , the tallest to protect the smaller varieties as you can tell by the  flowers showing amongst the leaves

Awesome, now that really makes for a beautiful view. I would think that this is a hybrid and not sure if the seeds would come true to that parent cob. Could try though, would be an interesting experiment. I went to McKenzie's site,the seed is McFaden, is McKenzie and McFaden the same company I wonder. The information on the corn (Japanese Ornamental Stars and Stripes variety name) did not indicate if it was hybrid or open pollinated. Oh well. Regardless I think it is so pretty that I am going to purchase seed for next year and grow a pretty patch of the most beautiful colours I have ever seen. Daughter bought a package of seeds and the seeds spilled on the ground near a planter of hers. I remember seeing the package and it was in the love lies bleeding family. I can't stand that plant, with those ichy long and drooping flowers so I was uninterested. But it was not the one with the long pinkish maroon strands of flowers, ich, it was called Jacob something or other. I have to pull a picture in here, cause it was the most incredibly beautiful plant I have ever seen, the foliage was to marvel at. I should never judge a book by the cover, cause this plant was astounding. I am sure a hybrid, so can't save seed, but I am going to find out exactly what it was and order some for next year. Shockingly beautiful maroon foliage and teeny tiny clusters of maroon flowers. Oh geeze. Gonna go and find that picture and bring it here in a thread. Ya, so PD, if you get some seed saved, lets try a little next year and see what happens. I have a spot where I could exclusively grow it....have a beautiful day, CynthiaM.

Love the variegated leaf! I think planting sturdy corn amongst the flowers would be a good way to stake up the flowers!

Do birds eat ornamental corn? Will you hang it out for them to peck at?

beautiful! !! I grew s baby blue jade corn this year.  it was tiny and had tasty purpley blue kernels  have phone pics but cant figure how to upload them to this forum..  those variegated leaves are incredible!

I'm pretty sure birds would go after the seeds if I hung the cobs outside ? but first comes my needs ....................then maybe ? I was thinking more of a ornamental wreath or something in that area

Those leaves are beautiful! I never realized that such colours existed in corn plants!

I can't stop looking at the corn and the corn plant!! Geeze, what a beautiful thing and I am so excited for next year, gonna have a beautiful little patch of that stuff. Wonder if it requires pollination like all other corns (like think grown in patches, not singularly or in long rows). Hmmmm....probably, corn is wind pollinated not insect pollinated.....so, wonder now really about wondering about wondering. I bet that if I treated each corn seed as a single plant and planted in little groups of three or so, I bet that the pollination of the kernels would still take place. I like to plant in little groups, might be replacing some of the canna lily groups in some areas, smiling. Geeze, two of my favourite colours and it comes in corn!! Have a beautiful day, CynthiaM.

PD, would you mind if I took the two pictures and showed some of my friends what I am going to be growing this year? Do you mind if the picture goes on internet (not jut on our forum?) I don't mind if you say no, I respect that. So requirement to ask is necessary. Have an awesome day, CynthiaM.

CynthiaM wrote:PD, would you mind if I took the two pictures and showed some of my friends what I am going to be growing this year?  Do you mind if the picture goes on internet (not jut on our forum?)  I don't mind if you say no, I respect that.  So requirement to ask is necessary.  Have an awesome day, CynthiaM.

Knock yourself out..............post away .I also only planted  in a horse shoe pattern so I had about six or seven plants ..........maybe the flowers helped with the pollination ? a lot of bee activity

Thank you PrairieDog, saved in my garden folder now. So pretty. Nope, not insect pollinated, wind pollinated, the pollen on the tassels falls to the silks, the pollen basically travels down the silks to fertilize each immature corn kernel, so that is how the corn is pollinated. Each strand of silk is attached in some way to the immature kernel. Honeybees are not attracted to corn pollen. don't know why they would not be attracted, weird to me, but I know this. Stand beside corn plants when the pollen is high, that fragrance is so sweet, almost like the scent of honey, actually, I really don't know why it is not used by the species. Oh well, thank you, that picture is on my computer to take a gander at any time that I want to see something very beautiful, that is not in the real world. Have a beautiful day, CynthiaM.

Cynthia ............I am looking back and noticed that I had also highlighted a corn in the Vessys catalog called Japonica , looks like the same thing , but Vessys is a lot closer to you and most likely this might be the place that I bought my seeds ? I re3member looking at there broom corn as well as the other ornamental varieties .They have a beautiful purple millet that I had wanted as a accent plant .............next year I guess ? sorry for any confusion that I might have caused

Eric

Eric, no worries, I will check out Vesey's, I order from them too.  I am on the opposite side of the country from Vesey's,, think they are on Prince Edward Island, I am in the interior of B.C., smiling, so distance is nothing for the mail.  I'll check out Vesey's and look at Japonica.  I love the japonica shrub, by the way, that is just a beautiful flower on those shrubs.  Thanks for posting.  Have an awesome day, CynthiaM.