Acorn squash is a sprawling vine with yellow fruit-bearing flowers. The fruits have a mild flavor and can be fried, baked, added to pasta, used in soups, and more. Native to North America, acorn squash is an aggressive grower and prefers moderately moist soil with full access to sunlight. To maximize growth add compost material to the surrounding soil in late fall. Mulching around the squash aids with retaining moisture and reducing competition. Acorn squash is best suited for large landscapes, but performs well in vegetable gardens, on trellises, and as a cover for exposed soil. It is easily sown from seed, especially when soils are warm. Cucurbita pepo should be transplanted in late spring, early summer, or after the last frost. Click here to see a calendar of planting schedules, time-to-harvest, and recommended spacing for your edible garden. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Slugs, aphids, and beetles VIDEO Created by Elisabeth Meyer for "Edibles, Bulbs, and Houseplants," a plant identification course developed in partnership with Longwood Gardens. More information on Cucurbita .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt)
Soil pH
Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. | Width: 2 ft. 0 in. - 25 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
6 - Vine (vertical)
Form & Appearance
Texture
Coarse
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Peltate
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaf feel
Prickly
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, > 6 inches wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Large, simple leaves. Alternate with palmate lobing and venation, often 3-7 lobes.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow
Flower value
Edible; Showy
Flower form
Solitary
Flower shape
Funnel; Star
Flower size
3-6 inches
Flower detail
5-parted yellow flowers. Monecious, with separate male and female flowers on the same plant.
Bloom time
Summer
Fruit color
Black; Cream/Tan; Gold/Yellow; Green; Orange; Pink; Red/Burgundy; Variegated; White
Fruit type
Berry
Fruit value
Edible; Showy
Fruit size
> 3 inches long, > 3 inches wide
Fruit detail
A type of berry called a pepo that has a hard rind. Fruits may be long or round, large or small, smooth or warty– some have edible flesh and some are too hard or insipid to eat, though the seeds of all are edible. Has a harder, thicker stem compared to other species.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Dark green
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
North America
Play value
Attractive Flowers; Easy to Grow; Edible fruit; Wildlife Food Source