Japonica Striped Maize Corn
Item Details
Magnificent ornamental flint corn from Japan; known in the 1890s as Striped-Leafed Japanese Maize. Variegated leaves striped with green, white, yellow, and pink. TaSeed Savers Exchangels are dark purple, kernels are burgundy. Beautiful when planted as a border. Color develops better when plants are widely spaced. Can be ground for corn meal.
- 85 days
- ±3,100 seeds/lb
- Organic
- Variegated leaves
- Green, white, yellow, and pink stripes
- Dark purple tassels and burgundy kernels
Growing Instructions
Instructions - Sow seeds outdoors 1" deep after danger of frost has passed. For good pollination and full ears, plant in blocks of 3-6 rows instead of one long row. Thin seedlings to 8" apart. Corn is a heavy feeder and does best in well-drained fertile soil with plenty of water.
- Direct Seed: 4" Apart
- Germination: 4-21 Days
- Rows Apart: 36-48"
- Light: Full Sun
Ratings & Reviews
4 reviews
Gorgeous stalks & leaves; fun for kids
by PG in Georgia
I planted this for the first time around 2008 or so. It was a limited planting at the unirrigated end of my garden. The lack of water kept it short, but the stalks and broad leaves/blades were absolutely gorgeous. It truly is a multicolored maize plant - a lot of red stripes,some yellow and white, all accentuating the green. I plan to try it again in ‘22 as a backstop/border. If you have kids or grandkids, they will enjoy the colors!
Beautiful show plant, conversation piece
by Chris
I planted this as a hedge across some of my windows, it was a beautiful plant with long purple ribbons along the leaves. Definitely worth planting if you're looking to accent the flowers in your yard.
Really good corn, but maybe not for the South
by Chris
This is a cool-climate corn. The leaf striping, in particular, is cool-dependent. If it gets too warm too fast, you won't get any striping at all. The kernels themselves have an intense black-red hull. The underlying endosperm is more often than not bright yellow. Of all the corn I've grown, this is one of the best tasting. However, this is a hard flint, so removing the hull is completely miserable. It resists nixtamalization; you still have to hand-peel all the individual kernels afterwards since the hull doesn't just rub off. Pounding in a samp mortar works better but you lose a lot of the floury fraction since it clings really tenaciously to the hull. All that being said it makes fantastic grits after all that work. Boiled whole hominy is exceptional as well, as long as you're willing to put in the effort to get yourself there. Grinding whole makes an acceptable polenta, though the color turns an unappetizing brown once you denature some of the anthocyanin with the long cooking.
not a good corn for eating
by Bill
This grew very well and germination was excellent. Color and striping was very pretty, but, as a food, this wasn't worth the effort. much harder to shell-I ended up buying a small hand sheller. Kernels were small. When ground, it made very poor cornmeal, mediocre grits, and just for laughs, I tried to pop it. That went poorly, too.
So, very nice as an ornamental corn, but I won't bother to grow it again. there are many better varieties for foodstuff.