Courgette

Sun

Full sun, ideally at least 6-8 hours daily.

Water

Water deeply whenever the upper soil starts to dry, keeping moisture steady during flowering and fruiting. Water the soil rather than the leaves.

Soil

Fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil enriched with compost; slightly acidic to neutral soil is ideal.

Height

2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m)

Spread

3-5 ft (0.9-1.5 m) for most bush varieties; trailing varieties need more room.

Flowers

Large yellow to orange-yellow flowers from early summer until autumn frost; separate male and female flowers grow on the same plant.

Foliage

Large, rough, lobed green leaves on prickly stalks; some varieties have natural silver markings.

Growth

Fast; many varieties begin cropping about 6-8 weeks after sowing in warm conditions.

Care needed

Medium

• Plant outside only after frost risk has passed and the soil has warmed to at least 15°C (59°F).
• Space bush plants about 3 ft (0.9 m) apart, allowing more room for vigorous varieties.
• Water deeply at the base and mulch warm soil with compost or straw to conserve moisture.
• Feed container plants regularly with a tomato fertiliser once flowering starts, following the label rate.
• Check plants every day or two and cut fruits while young, usually 4-8 in (10-20 cm) long.

Pruning. During summer, cut off dead or badly diseased leaves at their stalk bases with clean secateurs. Avoid routine heavy pruning, which reduces the leaf area supporting fruit production.

Early spring

Prepare a sunny bed with well-rotted compost; check seed packets for bush or trailing growth.

Mid-spring

Sow individual seeds in pots indoors, about 3-4 weeks before your expected last frost.

Late spring

Harden off seedlings and plant after frost risk has passed, or sow directly into warm soil.

Early summer

Mulch, establish a regular watering routine and begin feeding container plants.

Summer

Harvest frequently and check flowers and developing fruits for pollination problems.

Autumn

Harvest remaining usable fruits before frost and remove plants when cropping finishes.

• Use as a bold, broad-leaved crop in a sunny kitchen garden, with clear access for harvesting.
• Place at the edge of a raised bed so foliage can extend over the side without shading smaller crops.
• Grow a compact bush variety in a large patio container with drainage holes, holding at least 40 litres of compost.
• Combine with calendula or nasturtiums in an edible border, leaving enough space for airflow and picking.

Garden styles it suits: Potager (kitchen garden), Edible landscape, Homestead, Cottage garden, Family-friendly and Farmhouse.

Plant it with: Calendula, Nasturtium, Borage and Dwarf French beans.

Wildlife: The flowers provide pollen and nectar for bees, which normally pollinate the crop. Avoid insecticide sprays on open flowers.

• Powdery mildew: white powder develops on leaves, especially late in the season. Keep roots evenly moist, improve spacing and remove badly affected leaves; normal silver leaf markings are not mildew.
• Poor pollination: small fruits yellow, soften and drop. If both flower types are open, transfer pollen from a male flower to the centre of a female flower in the morning; female flowers have a tiny fruit behind them.
• Slugs and snails: seedlings and young fruits are chewed. Check after dark, remove pests and use locally approved iron phosphate bait if needed.
• Squash vine borer in parts of North America: larvae tunnel into stems and cause sudden wilting. Use insect mesh before flowering, remove it for pollination, and promptly remove infested plants and crop debris.

Normal cultivated courgette fruits and flowers are edible for people, and the plant is not known to be toxic to cats, dogs or horses. Exceptionally bitter fruits can contain poisonous cucurbitacins and cause severe digestive illness in people and animals. Do not eat or feed bitter fruit to animals; discard it, as cooking does not make it safe.

• Marrow (Cucurbita pepo)

  Marrows belong to the same species and may be difficult to distinguish when young. Marrow varieties are generally grown for larger, mature fruits, while courgettes are harvested young;

• Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)

  Cucumbers usually have slender trailing or climbing stems, smaller flowers and thinner leaves. Courgettes typically have stout, prickly leaf stalks, much larger flowers and a thick, ridged fruit stalk.

Courgette is French for 'little marrow', zucchini comes from the Italian for 'little squashes', and Cucurbita pepo combines Latin and Greek-derived words for gourds and melons.

Propagation. Grow from seed, sown about 1 in (2.5 cm) deep in warm compost or soil. Saved seed may not grow true because Cucurbita pepo varieties cross readily; use fresh seed from a reliable supplier if you need predictable fruit.

Accepted botanical name

Cucurbita pepo

In the US and Canada

Native in the lower 48 states. Introduced in the lower 48 states, Pacific Basin and Puerto Rico.

Native range

Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast and Mexico Southwest.

Measured

Average height 63 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.