Melon is a plant which belongs to the Cucumis genus.
Related to cucumbers, squash, and pumpkins, they are an orange or green fleshed vining fruit.
There are many varieties of C. melo including the North American Cantaloupe (a netted skin fruit with sweet orange flesh, also known as a muskmelon) to the Armenian Cucumber (a fruit more like a cucumber then other melons), the true cantaloupe, and honeydew among others.
Cantaloupe is a smooth skinned orange fruited melon. In North America it can apply to any melon with orange fruit, and in the USA is commonly used to refer only to netted orange fruited melons.
Blooms appear in these approximate colours: Canary yellow and Unmellow Yellow and Mellow yellow. When mature, blooms are roughly 2.0 cm (that's 0.78 inches in imperial) in diameter. The mature flowers take a single form, with an approximate petal count of 5. When ripe, fruit appear in these approximate colours: Buff and Yellow. Leaves appear approximately as a Bright green and Grade 1 Paint Green
Melon grows as an annual and is a flowering edible fruit / vegetable. Being an annual plant, it tends to grow best over the course of a single year.
Melon is known for its vine habit and growing to a height of approximately 30.0 cm (11.7 inches). This plant tends to bloom in early summer, followed by first harvests in late summer.
Try planting Melon if you'd like to attract bees to your garden.
Popular varieties of Melon with home gardeners are Heart of Gold, Minnesota Midget, Hale's Best 45, Tigger and Ambrosia Hybrid.
Be aware that Melon typically needs a fair amount of maintenance and care in order to grow successfully. Ensure that you are aware of the soil, sun, ph and water requirements for this plant and keep an eye out for pests. Pay attention to weeding, feed and pruning schedules to ensure your plant remains in peak condition.
This plant info is provided by the myfolia gardener's wiki. All details about Melon have been kindly provided by our members.
Full Sun
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Cantaloupe is a heat loving tropical plant. Starting seeds indoors and choosing a variety that has a short season can help if you live in a colder climate.3 Water well until fruit is set.3
They may be grown along the ground or up a support. If grown along the ground placing the fruit on a board or pot will help keep insects from damaging it. If grown up a support a sling can be tied around the fruit and attached to the support.
In cooler climates pinch out the growing tip after five leaves, and then each side shoot after five leaves. More flower buds form on side shoots. In cooler climates, restrict the number of maturing fruit so that the plant does not waste energy on fruit that will not ripen before it is too cold
Plant in a location that enjoys full sun and remember to water often. Ensure your soil is potting mix and loamy and has a ph of between 6.1 and 7.5 as Melon is a weakly acidic soil - weakly alkaline soil loving plant. Keep in mind when planting that Melon is thought of as tender, so remember to wait until your soil is warm and the night time temperature is well above freezing before moving outside.
See our list of companion Plants for Melon to see which plants you should plant in close proximity to encourage growth.
Maybe started indoors or outdoors in warmer climates.
In a shorter season climate, start the seeds early in good light
Plant one seed in a 7cm pot using ordinary potting compost
By our calculations*, you should look at sowing Melon about 14 days before your last frost date .
If starting indoors start 2-4 weeks before setting out. Start in a 2" pot and transplant when they have 1-2 true leaves.
In cooler climates melons are best grown under protection of a cold frame, glass house or plastic greenhouse. At least, they should have the protection of a warm wall in the sunniest part of the garden.
By our calculations*, you should look at planting out Melon about 14 days after your last frost date.
Unripe, uncut, cantaloupe may be stored on the counter at room temperature. Once it reaches peak ripeness it should be stored in the refrigerator. Cut cantaloupe may be stored in the fridge for 6-9 days.2
These estimates for how long Melon takes to sprout, grow and harvest are from real observations from real gardeners, right around the world.
Start logging and journaling your observations to participate!
Average 8 days | Min 1 days | Max 25 days (261)
Average 24 days | Min 4 days | Max 79 days (39)
Average 89 days | Min 66 days | Max 112 days (21)
Our when to plant Melon estimates are relative to your last frost date.
Enter your frost dates and we'll calculate your sowing and planting dates for you!
Melo, means melon. Reticulatus means netted referring to the netting of the skin.
Cantalupo is the Italian word for cantaloupe, named for a place near Rome where it is said to have first been grown.
The genome of C. melo was sequenced in 2012.1
Cantaloupe, Melon cucumber, Carosello cucumber
Cucumis melo L.
Misspellings: Canteloupe Melon, Rock Melon, Cantelope, cantalope
Failed to germinate. Planted 8 more seeds.
rae about growing Honeydew "Orange Flesh"
Had 5 plants but none seemed to have survived, while all the other melons I planted did well.
MoxiePepper about growing Melon 'Green Rocky Ford'
Share melon growing tips, recommend your favorites, or ask questions about growing them.
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