Does anyone have any of these seeds? I have been looking for them and can't find them anywhere. Please let me know. Thanks!

Sandy

http://www.reimerseeds.com/rub...
https://www.burpee.com/vegetab...
Here are a couple of sources.

Hi Bob, Thanks for looking but Ruby is different than Ruby Queen. I googled it but couldn't find anything.

Sandy

I guess "Red Ruby" corn is also different?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/RED-RU...

Ruby Red Indian Corn?
http://www.circaplants.com/rur...

I have a friend that was looking for these seeds. I told him that I would check with you guys--cause I figured you's would know. All I know was they were called Ruby. He got them from Wal-mart last year but could not find them this year. Him and his friend have looked all over in our area. He grew them last year and when the corn was cooked it would turn white. I have been looking for that too. Thanks for helping. I'll check with my friend

Sandy

Good luck, Sandy, and to your friend!

Did it seem to be a popcorn or ornamental variety?

I wonder if there really IS any recognized corn cultivar named 'Ruby', and not just left-over seeds that the marketing department decided to move under a "sold-as" name.

Or some cultivar that the breeder never registered ... whatever the process is for getting an "official" cultivar name.

Say they had 'Ruby Queen' but they have to pay the vendor more if they sell it as 'Ruby Queen'. So they called it "Ruby".
Or they never paid for the right to multiply 'Ruby Queen', if that's a thing. Or the grower knew that it was somehow "off-spec" and couldn;t be sold under the name of the "real" 'Ruby Queen'.

All speculation.

I just know that Home Depot sold me some bulbs with a name slightly different from any recognized variety, but similar to a variety that looked very similar. I assume that name-fiddling somehow evaded some expense or law or license.

Our database doesn't list 'Ruby', just:

Sweet Corn (Se) (Zea mays subsp. mays 'Ruby Queen')
Popcorn (Zea mays subsp. mays 'Ruby Red')
Popcorn (Zea mays subsp. mays 'Robust Ruby Red')

I knew someone on here would know. Thank you! I don't think my friend is going to like the answer. What your saying could be possible. Thanks again!

Sandy

I'm just guessing.

Say, did he save the envelope the seeds came in? If there's a lot number, and any kind of "customer support" phone number or website, maybe someone at Walmart would say who their supplier was, and then you could ask that supplier what they called "Ruby" for Walmart .

I've read that Walmart drivers down prices from their suppliers until they have to cheapen their products in order to meet Walmart's low standards for price and quality. When Walmart demanded a price from some rifle supplier that would have been below the manufacturer's cost, they had to design it to be cheesier so they could make it cheaper. Then they added a "W" to the model number so it wouldn't be confused with their better-made standard model.

I don't know but I will ask him. That's really awful what Wal-mart does.

They are so big that they can bully their suppliers. Most companies feel that they "have to" be on Walmart's shelves because "everyone shops there".

I guess you can count on lower prices than most other places,
and expect lower quality than most other places.

I asked my friend--he didn't have the pack anymore--it was last year he bought the seeds--They were Burpees I think and called Ruby. He said that when the corn was cooked that it went back to yellow and was the best tasting he had ever tasted.

Oh, Geeze! Our IT department has BLOCKED Burpee's website.

Anyway, I suppose Burpee would be the ones to ask. Maybe if the question were worded right, it would sound less like "What the heck did you PUT into those packets labelled Ruby, anyway!?!"

If they say it's a Burpee exclusive, I guess it is.

OK, I'll go ask them and see if they say anything--I'll let you know if they do.

Thanks, Sandy. I'm curious to know what Burpee says.

I can't really defend it, but I stopped buying from Parks and Burpee. I like catalogs that always make it clear whether each offering is hybrid or OP - they aren't going out of their way to make it harder to save seeds.

I also prefer to see the species name and a recognized cultivar name, not a marketing blurb and a no-name name.

Maybe Parks and Burpee are no worse that way than many others, but I got a "down" fixed in my mind and now I don't buy from them.

Rick, you are correct about the W-products. My sister bought a riding lawnmower from Walmart for considerably less than same model at other stores. When she needed some repairs done on it, that is when she discovered the reason for the cheap price - her W-model had inferior parts (or missing some altogether) than the same model without the W. As mom always told me, you get what you pay for. I have long decided that Walmart is simply not a part of my known universe, which has likely eliminated a lot of personal aggravation...

This may be helpful in the quest for Ruby Corn, and has actually piqued my interest as I am in the Pacific NW:

https://www.adaptiveseeds.com/...

I know it's not the same corn, but I'm giving away free Glass Gem corn seeds, many of mine are reddish tint. if your interested in some send me a tree mail with your address.

Hi All, I emailed Burpees and they said they would get back to me in 24 to 48 hours. So now its a waiting game.. I don't know what my friend did now that he knows he couldn't get his seeds.

Wal-mart did that to him with tomato seeds too. They were called summer salsa. I looked for them for a long time for my friend. I never did find them.

I didn't know companies did that!

When your friend cooked the corn...how was it cooked? Was it boiled, roasted, baked, or popped?

Burpee has Ruby Queen; according to this Burpee link the color will be enhanced if microwaved or steamed.
https://www.burpee.com/vegetab...

Here is one offered by Adaptive Seeds; it's a flint type.
https://www.adaptiveseeds.com/...

That's one example of why I like to get seeds from a source that I trust to label them accurately.

"That was the best corn I ever ate! I'm going to plant that every year from now on! What was it?

... hmmm ...

I never heard of a variety named "Fernegi Flim-Flam No-Name Corn".

Thanks, Walmart!
Thanks, Burpee!
I bet you are Monsanto's best pals - "Preventing seed saving to boost our quarterly profits"!