Beet Varieties

Beet Varieties

Beets (Beta vulgaris), also known as beetroots, are the root portion of the beet plant, although the leaves are also eaten. Other cultivars under Beta vulgaris include sugar beets, mangelwurzel or fodder beets, and Swiss chard, which is basically beet greens without the root swelling. Here, I cover some of the main varieties of beets (not Swiss chard), including whether they are hybrid (F1) or open-pollinated (OP) varieties, their days to maturity, the color of the beetroot, and any other information that may be interesting, including any disease-resistance, when known. If you wish to learn more about how to grow beets, please see my other blog post (coming soon). Days to maturity in the chart usually refer to mature roots, unless otherwise stated. If you prefer baby leaves or baby beets, the number of days is closer to 35-40 days. Disease resistance in the chart is given as abbreviations. The list of abbreviations is listed below:

BLS - Bacterial Leaf Spot
CLS - Cercospora Leaf Spot
DM - Downy Mildew
PM - Powdery Mildew
RRCR - Rhizoctonia Root and Crown Rot

Variety	OP vs F1	Days to Maturity	Color	Notes
3 Root Grex	OP	54	3 colors: pink/red/orange, bright gold, and bright orange	Grex refers to variation in gene pool of the variety, not yet fully stabilized; mix of three heirlooms: Yellow Intermediate , Crosby Purple Egyptian , and Lutz Saladleaf ; large size
Albino	OP	55	White	So sweet can be used to make sugar; eat raw or cooked; heirloom from Holland; hill soil around roots to prevent green shoulders
Angela	OP	60	Dark red	Sweet and earthy; stores well
Avalanche	OP	55	White	Mild, sweet; consistent producer; adaptable; eat raw, roasted, or juiced; AAS winner; resistant to CLS
Azuma	F1	80-85	Dark red	Good for baby and full-sized roots and greens; does well in the heat
Baby Ball	OP	50-55	Red	Small, sweet roots; eat whole: pickled, steamed or baked; from Holland
Babybeat	OP	40	Red	Mini beet; small enough to cook whole
Badger Flame	OP	55	Gold	Oblong-shaped root; sweet, mild, not earthy; eat raw or cooked
Betina	OP	55-65	Dark red	Bred from Detroit Dark Red but with larger roots; from the Czech Republic; sweet; good as baby beets or full-size
Bohan	F1	65	Red	Does well in wet or low-nutrient soil; very sweet; green leaves with red stems also good for eating
Boldor	OP	51-55	Gold/orange	Similar to Touchstone Gold but better germination, uniformity, and vigor; keeps color when cooked; light green tops; good for juicing, roasting, or eating raw; resistant to CLS
Boltardy	OP	55	Dark red	Bolt-resistant; cold-hardy
Boro	F1	50-51	Dark red	Reliable producer; large tops for greens; stores well; sweet; good as baby or full-sized roots; eat pickled or roasted; disease-resistant; BLS and CLS resistant
Bresko	F1	55	Red	Vigorous; resistant to leaf-miners
Bull s Blood	OP	50-64	Red root with stripes; deep red leaves	Often grown only for its leaves; best when picked young to use raw in salads or cook; I have grown this variety, but it did not consistently bulb, leaves are beautiful
Bull s Blood Olympia	OP	35 (baby leaves)	Dark red leaves	Darker red leaves than Bull s Blood ; grow for baby leaves only
Carillon	OP	65	Dark red	Elongated roots good for canning; uniform and vigorous; better foliar disease resistance than Cylindra
Cherry Red Bull s Blood	OP	35 (baby leaves)	Dark purple-red leaves	Grown for baby leaves; roots do not bulb well; improved color compared to Bull s Blood
Chioggia or Bassano	OP	55-65	Red/pink and white striped	Green tops; pink/red rings can fade and turn grayish when cooked, use a little lemon juice or vinegar to help maintain color or roast whole and slice just before eating; can be eaten raw; Italian variety
Chioggia Guardsmark	OP	55-60	Red and white striped	Improved Chioggia with better bolt tolerance and uniformity; good flavor; green tops; pink/red rings can fade and turn grayish when cooked longer, use a little lemon juice or vinegar to help maintain color
Crosby Egyptian	OP	45	Red	Heirloom from Germany; may be the most widely grown in the world; sweet with no earthy taste
Cylindra, Formanova, Forono	OP	54-60	Red	Used for canning, as the roots grow cylindrically; I grow this variety every year; good for baking, cooking, and pickling; can grow up to 7 long and will push up out of the ground; can be planted closer due to shape; Danish variety; CLS and scab-resistant
Detroit Dark Red	OP	55-60	Dark red	Classic heirloom; uniform roots; good for canning, fresh eating, baking, boiling, steaming, and pickling; I grow this variety every year; good keeper; CLS and DM-resistant
Detroit Supreme	OP	60-65	Red	Improvement of Detroit Medium Top with better disease resistance
Eagle	F1	54	Dark red	Dark green, red-veined leaves for eating; uniform roots; good heat tolerance
Early Blood Turnip	OP	48-68	Dark Red	Sweet and tender; rare heirloom
Early Wonder Tall Top	OP	45-60	Red	Often grown for roots, both full-size and baby, and large tops; disease-resistant; good for spring planting as it germinates well in cool soil; adaptable; similar to Detroit Dark Red ; eat raw, cooked, pickled, or canned
Evansville Orbit	OP	60	Pink and white striped	Tall tops tolerant of CLS; some color is lost when cooked
Falcon	F1	60	Dark red	Good heat tolerance and bolt resistance
Formanova, Forono, or Cylindra	OP	54-56	Red	Often used for canning, as the roots grow cylindrically; I grow this variety every year; good for baking, cooking, and pickling; can grow up to 7 long and will push up out of the ground
Fresh Pak	F1	40	Green leaves with red stems and veins	Grown for its leaves, does not produce a large root; highly resistant to downy mildew, some resistance to CLS
Fresh Start	F1	34 (baby leaf)	Green leaves with red stems	Baby leaf use only; Resistant to CLS and DM
Gemini	F1	68	Dark red	Adaptable, does well in cool and warm climates and in high humidity; uniform; large green tops with red veins; sweet and less earthy; good roasted
Golden or Burpee s Golden	OP	55	Gold	Sweet and less earthy than red beets; eat baked, boiled, raw, roasted, pickled, or juiced; does not bleed
Golden Boy	OP	65-70	Gold-orange	Best when young; greens also good to eat; resistant to CLS
Golden Detroit	OP	55	Gold	Improved size, taste, disease-resistance, and vigor than Burpee s Golden ; less round and more elongated shape than Detroit Dark Red
Golden Grex	OP	54	Gold	Grex refers to variation in gene pool of the variety, not yet fully stabilized; selected from Lutz ; green tops, large, but mild and sweet roots; some will have alternating rings of yellow and red in the roots
Green Top Bunching	OP	60	Red	Cook or pickle
Grenade	F1	50-60	Red	Resistant to RRCR; one of the best beets with RRCR resistance
Kestrel	F1	53 baby beets; 85 full size	Dark red	Roots are heart-shaped, uniform size with large green tops; stores well; some resistance to CLS, DM, PM, and RRCR
Lutz Green Leaf, Winter Keeper, or Lutz Winter Keeper	OP	60-80	Red	Green tops are good for eating; stores well; sow farther apart than other beets and thin to 4 apart; eat boiled, raw in salads, pickled, or roasted
MacGregor s Favorite	OP	55-65	Red	Small, conical-shaped root; leaves are also good to eat; Scottish, heirloom
Mammoth Red Mangel	OP	100	Pale yellow, pink, or orange	Harvest young to eat raw or cooked, or allow to grow up to 40 pounds for a giant vegetable competition; good fodder for animals; used in mangold hurling game
Mangel Forage, Mangelwurzel, or Fodder Beets	OP	65	Dark red	Roots and greens are edible or grow larger to use for animal forage; can grow very large
Manzu	F1	53	Red	RRCR resistant
Merlin	F1	48-55	Dark red	Sweet roots that consistently bulb up; tall, upright tops; resistant to CLS and DM
Moneta	F1	46	Dark red	Monogerm variety that contains one embryo per seed compared with most beet seeds that have 2-3 so less thinning required
Pacemaker III	F1	50-60	Dark red	Resistant to CLS, DM, and RRCR
Palau	F1	52	Dark red	RRCR resistant
Red Ace	F1	50-55	Red	Reliable, vigorous, and adaptable; sweet; green tops with red veins are good for eating; similar to Early Wonder ; tolerant to or intermediate resistance to CLS
Red Atlas	F1	55	Dark red	Uniform roots with high sugar content; slow to bolt; intermediate resistance to CLS, DM, and PM
Red Cloud	F1	50	Dark red	Bolt-resistant; sweet; good for roots and greens
Red Titan	F1	60	Dark red	Uniform, sweet roots; resistant to CLS, DM, and RRCR; good for roasting, pickling, and eating raw
Redval	F1	50-55	Dark red	RRCR resistant
Renova	OP	55-60	Purple-red	Cylidrical-shaped; bred in Czech Republic; reliable
Rhonda	F1	65-70	Dark red	Similar to Boro but matures 2 weeks later; sweet; good keeper;
Robin	F1	40	Dark red	Baby beets; disease-resistant; uniform roots
Ruby Queen	OP	55-60	Red	Good for juicing or canning; sweet; cold-tolerant; greens are also good to eat; AAS Winner
Schrute	F1	60	Red	Bolt-resistant; tall tops; intermediate resistance to CLS and RRCR
Sedona	F	50-60	Dark red	Uniform roots with high sugar content
Shiraz	OP	60	Red with some white stripes	Intermediate resistance to RRCR; tall strong tops for eating; good canning beet
Solo	F1	50-60	Dark red	Resistant to CLS, DM, PM, and RRCR
Subeto	F1	50	Red	Productive; similar to Boro but with smaller tops; uniform roots good for processing
Sugar	OP	90-100	White	Used for sugar production and animal fodder; very large root; frost tolerant
Touchstone Gold	OP	53-55	Gold	Retains color when cooked; sweet; good germination (many golden beets have reduced germination) but best in warmer soil; reliable and uniform; green tops; resistant to CLS
Vereduna Alba	OP	55	White	Sweet; less earthy than red beets; good resistance to CLS; eat raw, cooked, or pickled
Vulture	F1	85	Dark red	Shorter, cylindrical shape; good flavor and yields
White Albino	OP	50	White	Sweet
White Detroit	OP	55	White	A type of sugar beet, very sweet; eat or turn into sugar syrup
Winter Sun or Wintersonne	OP	60-70	Gold	Swiss beet; sweet; eat raw or cooked; adaptable
Yellow Intermediate Mangel	OP	65-100	White and yellow rings	Traditionally used for animal feed but sweet and tender when picked young
Zeppo	F1	50	Dark red	Short tops; good baby beet or eat them full-sized; better yield and more uniform than Red Ace

 

References and Resources

1. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Beet Seeds. https://www.rareseeds.com/store/plants-seeds/vegetable-seeds/beetroot-seeds
2. Cornell Vegetables. Resources for commercial growers. Disease resistant beet varieties. https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/disease-resistant-vegetable-varieties/disease-resistant-beet-varieties/
3. Fedco Seeds. Beets. https://fedcoseeds.com/vegetables/beets
4. Harris Seeds. Beet Seeds. https://www.harrisseeds.com/collections/beet
5. High Mowing Organic Seeds. Organic Non-GMO Beet Seed. https://www.highmowingseeds.com/vegetables/beet.html
6. Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Beets. https://www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetables/beets/?start=0&sz=48&origStart=12
7. Managing Rhizomania, a new disease for Michigan red beets. Michigan State University. MSU Extension Vegetables. 2019. https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/managing-rhizomania-a-new-disease-for-michigan-red-beets
8. MIgardener. Beets. https://migardener.com/collections/beets
9. Pinetree Garden Seeds. Beet Seeds. https://www.superseeds.com/collections/beet-seeds
10. Rohrer Seeds. Beet Seeds. https://rohrerseeds.com/collections/beets-1
11. Seed Savers Exchange. Beet. https://shop.seedsavers.org/cylindra-beet
12. Territorial Seed Company. Shop Beets. https://territorialseed.com/collections/beet?page=1
13. True Leaf Market. Beet Seeds. https://trueleafmarket.com/collections/beet-garden-seed
14. Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners. Cornell Garden Based Learning, Cornell University College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Horticulture Section. https://vegvariety.cce.cornell.edu/main/showVarieties.php?searchCriteria=&searchIn=0&crop_id=6&sortBy=overallrating&order=DESC&sideSearch=Search