Genus Beta (Swiss chard, Beet)

Beta vulgaris 'Ruby Red' Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais

BAY-tah

Common Name: Swiss chard, Beet

These delicious vegetables are grown to eat, but have considerable ornamental merit in the border also due to their large, succulent leaves and thick stems in tantalizing shades of burgundy, white, gold and magenta. Beta vulgaris is the scientific name for beet, and B. vulgaris, cicla group denotes Swiss chard.
Noteworthy characteristics: They are easily grown from seed, and if given ample water and nutrients, can survive the season to continue as large foliage statements of fall.
Care: Grow in light, fertile soil in full sun to partial shade.
Propagation: Direct sow in situ in early spring or late summer.
Problems: Fungal leaf spots, downy mildew, powdery mildew, damping off, root rot. Pythium, Phytophthora, leaf miners, aphids, caterpillars.

Species, varieties and cultivars for genus Beta

Beta vulgaris 'Bull's Blood'
(Beet) Be the first to rate this plant

This heirloom beet from 1840 is primarily grown for its tender, sweet, deep red-burgundy foliage, but the beets are tasty when harvested at the 2- to 3-inch size. The glossy leaves reach 18 inches high. Though it is edible, it is often grown as an ornamental, and its dark leaves contrast nicely with many garden plants.

Beta vulgaris 'Ruby Red'
(Swiss chard) Be the first to rate this plant

This is a sweet Swiss chard with beautiful candy-apple-red stalks and dark green, crinkly leaves with touches of red. Both the leaves and the stalks are very ornamental and 'Ruby Red' is great in a vegetable or cottage garden, or in an ornamental bed or border. It is especially attractive when grown with plants whose colors call attention to the red coloring. Although related to beets, the root is inedible, but the leafy greens are valued for their mild flavor and high nutritional value.