Last edited on 2 Nov 2026. View history

buttercup pumpkin Buttercup Pumpkin

Cucurbita maxima

A variety of pumpkin

How to sow buttercup pumpkin: Direct seed indoors (and transplant outside after seedlings are hardened off) or outdoors

Sun requirement for buttercup pumpkin: Plant in Full Sun

A classic pre-1980s buttercup from Henry Harrington's collection in the deep South. Dry and sweet, it ripens early, often by Christmas or early January, and is good as a summer squash. It does not keep past June or July. Medium vigour; give it room to trail or climb. Transplant at 1 m.

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Buttercup pumpkin facts

Lifespan

Annual living and reproducing in a single year or less

Growing buttercup pumpkins

  1. Sow seeds in pots 4 weeks before planting out
  2. Dig a pit and fill it with compost 2 weeks before planting out
  3. Harden off the seedlings 1 week before planting out
  4. Set or refill beer traps for slugs and snails at planting out every week
  5. Water deeply at the base 1 week after planting out every week
  6. Mulch around the plants 3 weeks after planting out
  7. Hand pollinate the female flowers 6 weeks after planting out
  8. Pinch out the vine tips 10 weeks after planting out
  9. Lift fruit onto a tile or board 6 weeks before first harvest
  10. Check leaves for powdery mildew 8 weeks after planting out every 2 weeks
  11. Cut pumpkins with a long stalk at first harvest
  12. Cure the pumpkins in the sun 1 week after first harvest

Plant buttercup pumpkins with

chives chives

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Ecological requirements

Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Cucurbita maxima Duchesne

Family / Taxonomy Magnoliopsida
Dilleniidae
Violales
Cucurbitaceae
Optimal temperature 20 - 30 °C
Absolute temperature 9 - 38 °C
Optimal rainfall 600 - 1000 mm/year
Absolute rainfall 450 - 2700 mm/year
Optimal soil pH 5.5 - 7.5
Absolute soil pH 5.0 - 8.5
Crop cycle 80 - 140 days
Max altitude 2000 m
Life form vine
Life span annual
Habit climber/scrambler/scadent
Optimal soil depth deep (>>150 cm)
Optimal soil texture heavy, medium, light, organic
Optimal soil fertility high
Optimal soil drainage well (dry spells)
Optimal soil salinity low (<4 dS/m)
Photoperiod short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours), long day (>14 hours)
Optimal light very bright

Licensed under CC-BY-4.0 .

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) ECOCROP, the crop ecological requirements database. Version 1. https://data.apps.fao.org/catalog/dataset/ecocrop. Accessed through the CGIAR Climate Action Data Hub, https://cgiar-climate-data-hub.github.io/catalog/ecocrop_1/.

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