Crop type: Carrots
Daucus carota ‘Flyaway’
Common name: Carrot ‘Flyaway’
Crop slug: carrots
This Allotment Pro editorial draft summarises the cited RHS cultivar profile. Check the source and adjust cultivation decisions for local conditions.RHS cultivar profile
1 - Overview
‘Flyaway’ is a biennial carrot cultivated as an annual. Its bright green, feathery foliage grows above sweet orange roots with smooth skin and distinctively blunt ends. Individual carrots reach up to 15cm long.
The cultivar’s defining practical trait is good resistance to carrot fly. That resistance reduces risk but does not remove the value of rotation and physical protection, especially where the pest has damaged earlier carrot crops.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 0.1–0.5 metres
- Ultimate spread
- 0.1–0.5 metres
- Time to ultimate size
- 1 year
The profile’s height and spread describe the leafy clump, while the edible roots are specifically recorded as reaching up to 15cm long. The crop is completed in its first season.
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Clay, loam and sand
- Moisture
- Moist but well-drained or well-drained
- Soil pH
- Acid, neutral or alkaline
‘Flyaway’ accepts the full stated pH range and several soil textures, but its smooth roots form best in deep, fertile, obstruction-free ground. Break up clay and remove stones to preserve the blunt-ended shape.
4 - Position and hardiness
- Light
- Full sun
- Aspect
- West- or south-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- Hardiness
- H3 — hardy in coastal and relatively mild UK conditions, while normally grown and lifted as an annual vegetable
Choose an open, sunny and sheltered site. The main sowing begins from mid-April, after which reliable light and even moisture support quick root development.
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
The seasonal table contains no assigned colour entries. The profile nevertheless supplies clear visual identifiers: bright green feathery foliage and smooth-skinned orange carrots with rounded, blunt tips.
6 - Botanical details
- Family
- Apiaceae
- Native to Great Britain and Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Clump-forming
- Name status
- Accepted
Genus
Daucus comprises mainly biennial herbaceous plants commonly called wild carrots. Their triangular leaves are finely divided and lacy, while pink buds open into small white flowers held in dense umbels. The resulting fruits are small, hairy and uneven.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Grow ‘Flyaway’ in an open, sunny site with deep, fertile and well-drained soil. Sow directly into the ground from mid-April so the taproots develop without disturbance. Large tubs are also suitable when filled deeply enough for roots up to 15cm long.
Propagation
Propagate by seed, sown in its final growing position. Avoid transplanting young carrots because disturbed roots can fork.
Suggested locations
- Cottage and informal gardens
- Wildlife gardens
Pruning
No pruning is required.
Pests
Aphids may attack the foliage and rodents may eat the roots. The cultivar has good resistance to carrot fly, its key protective trait, although fine mesh and rotation remain useful preventive measures.
Diseases
The profile records ‘Flyaway’ as generally disease-free.