leek 'Giant Carentan'

A leek with thick white stems up to 5cm thick and 15cm long, with a delicate, mild flavour and buttery texture. Leeks, Allium porrum are herbaceous perennials usually grown as annual vegetables, with upright stems which can be blanched white, and green or blue-green leaves about 30-50cm long; plants may flower by bolting in their first year, or the following year if left overwinter, with stems up to 1.5m high topped by rounded flowerheads 5-9cm across of hundreds of star-like pale pink to white flowers which are visited by bees, in summer.