Cherokee White Eagle is a rare heirloom corn with stunning white and blue kernels, some bearing distinctive eagle-like markings that inspired its name. On sturdy stalks, it produces 8 to 10 inch ears that mature in 115 to 125 days, delivering excellent yields of corn suitable for grinding into meal or eating fresh as roasting ears when picked young. This revered Cherokee variety is notoriously hard to find, making seed-saving gardeners and heritage grain enthusiasts treasure it.
Full Sun
Moderate
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Moderate
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The kernels themselves tell the story: white and blue with those rare eagle markings that give this corn its poetic name. It produces robust, reliable harvests on strong plants, and works beautifully ground into cornmeal or eaten fresh off the stalk. Very few seed sources carry it, which means growing it is an act of preservation.
This corn excels as a grain for grinding into cornmeal, producing a product of distinctive character and quality. When harvested young, the ears can be eaten fresh as roasting corn. The dual-purpose nature of the variety, alongside its striking appearance, has made it valuable in heritage agriculture and seed-saving communities where both utility and preservation matter.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Sow seeds directly into the garden after all frost danger has passed and soil temperature reaches at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit (ideally 75 to 80 degrees for best germination). Plant seeds 1 to 2 inches deep, spacing them 8 inches apart in rows. Seeds will sprout in 7 to 10 days under proper conditions.
Harvest ears for fresh eating when they are in the milk stage, indicated by kernels that release a milky juice when pierced. For storage and grinding into cornmeal, allow ears to mature fully on the stalk for the complete 115 to 125 days, until kernels are dry and hard. Ears typically reach 8 to 10 inches in length at maturity. Pick by twisting and pulling the ear away from the stalk.
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“This is a Cherokee heirloom variety, carrying generations of cultivation and selection within Cherokee farming traditions. The distinctive eagle markings on the kernels are part of its heritage identity, visible evidence of a plant shaped by careful observation and preservation over time. As a heirloom, it represents knowledge and agricultural practice passed down through Cherokee communities, and its rarity in modern seed catalogs reflects both the challenges heirloom seeds face and the dedication required to keep such varieties alive.”