wild cucumber
Echinocystis lobata
USDA zones3 to 6
SunNeeds full sun (6+ hours)
WaterHandles moderate to moist soil
Size25 to 30 feet tall
- Habit
- Vine
- Bloom season
- Summer, autumn
- Bloom color
- White
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay
- Soil pH
- Acid, alkaline, neutral
Garden uses
Notes
Wild cucumber (Echinocystis lobata) is an annual vine for low maintenance gardens. This plant likes full sun and average to moist, sandy, loamy, or clay soil. It climbs by 3-forked tendrils that grow from the leaf axils. The stem is angular, and the leaves are maple-like. Small, fragrant, greenish-white flowers open in summer and again in autumn. The fruit looks like a cucumber, but it is inedible.
Pairs well with Ernest Markham clematis, Dropmore Scarlet honeysuckle, and Soraya sunflower.
Native range
AR, AZ, CO, CT, and 39 more places. See all 43
AR, AZ, CO, CT, DC, DE, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SD, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY; MB, NB, and SK.