Pumpkin Australian Butter seeds - Cucurbita maxima
Pumpkin Australian Butter seeds - Cucurbita maxima
Cucurbita maxima Australian Butter
Cucurbita maxima Australian Butter
Back-to-school special offer!
Get €10 off for every €50 you spend! And get up to €40 off on a single order.
How does it work?
1. Shop your favourites
Add your favourite plants to your basket. For every €50 you spend (excluding delivery charges, store credit and the plastic-free option), you’ll receive a €10 voucher.
€50 spent = €10 voucher
€100 spent = €20 voucher
€150 spent = €30 voucher
€200 spent = €40 voucher
2. Place your order
Once your basket reaches one of the spending thresholds, place your order. You can even choose your delivery date!
3. Receive your voucher
As soon as your order has been shipped, you’ll receive an email containing your personal voucher code and its value.
4. Use it on your next order
Your voucher is valid for 90 days from the date you receive it. It can be used once only, on a new order worth at least the value of the voucher, excluding delivery charges.
Please note: Vouchers can be combined with other offers, but cannot be split or refunded.
Home or relay delivery (depending on size and destination)
Important: You may be charged customs duties by your country’s customs authorities upon delivery.
Schedule delivery date,
and select date in basket
This plant carries a 6 months recovery warranty
More information
We guarantee the quality of our plants for a full growing cycle, and will replace at our expense any plant that fails to recover under normal climatic and planting conditions.
Description
The Winter Squash 'Australian Butter' is an old Australian trailing variety sought after for the delicious quality of its fruits. This variety produces round and tall pumpkins, ribbed, flattened, covered with a moderately hard orange epidermis. Each fruit weighs between 5 and 8 kg. The orange flesh is thick, dry, slightly floury, well-flavoured, with a very fruity and slightly sweet taste. In the centre, the cavity containing the seeds is small. This variety is useful for making soups, gratins, pies, jams, custards... Untouched fruits can be stored for 3 to 5 months in a cool, dry place. This variety produces reproducible seeds, the seeds can be collected for sowing the following year. Sow in April-May for a harvest from July to October.
Pumpkins, kabochas and cushaws belong to the Cucurbitaceae family and the species Cucurbita maxima. This annual herbaceous plant has long, vigorous, trailing stems, even climbing with the help of strong tendrils. Each plant has separate male and female flowers, it is said to be monoecious; it is the latter that will produce fruits once fertilised by the pollen of the former. The flowers are edible, just like courgette flowers. They can be stuffed or used in fritters for example.
The fruits of these squashes come in many shapes and colours, from large ribbed, orange or red fruits with orange flesh, to oblong shapes, pear shapes or 'Turk's turban' shapes. Originally from South America, the species Cucurbita maxima is said to have been introduced to Europe around the 16th or 17th century, like its cousins, other species of Cucurbita. They are often wrongly called "pumpkins" when they belong to a different species, Cucurbita pepo, with stringy flesh and a hard, fibrous stalk. As for the pumpkin, it has sweet, tasty, less stringy flesh, with a tender and spongy stalk.
Squashes are rich in vitamins and trace elements, low in calories, rich in potassium and have antioxidant properties.
Harvest and storage:
Harvest the squash as late as possible, without risking the first frosts. Keep the largest possible stem and store them in a temperate room (10 to 15°C). This way, you can store them for a few months to a year, avoiding them touching each other.
Gardener's tips:
- Prepare the planting holes two weeks in advance, filling them with compost or organic matter.
- During growth, you can bury the stems at the nodes to encourage rooting.
- To save space and protect your fruits from rot, you can grow pumpkins on supports such as a trellis or sturdy stakes.
- During fruit ripening, you can place a tile or a brick for example, between the ground and the fruit to insulate it and limit premature rotting. A thick mulch will also do the trick.
Pumpkin Australian Butter seeds - Cucurbita maxima in pictures
Harvest
Plant habit
Foliage
Botanical data
Cucurbita
maxima
Australian Butter
Cucurbitaceae
Cucurbita maxima Australian Butter
Cultivar or hybrid
Annual
Planting and care
Preparation :
Cucurbitaceae prefer loose, rich, and deep soil. Dig a hole at least 40 cm in all directions and fill it with well-decomposed manure and/or compost. In addition to good fertilisation, they will need plenty of water and warmth and plenty of space (at least 1 square metre).
Sowing :
Before sowing, you can soak the seeds for 24 hours in a little water to stimulate germination.
Either, 3 weeks before transplanting, in a greenhouse or in a warm place (16 to 30°C), starting from March, sow 2 or 3 seeds per large pot or container suitable for root development. Germination will occur 3 to 5 days later. Then keep only the most vigorous plant. Plant in the ground after mid-May, once all risk of frost is gone. It is important not to sow too early, as the plants could become leggy and/or their root system, if too developed, would not withstand transplantation.
Or, starting from mid-May, directly in place, in groups of 3 seeds, as soon as frosts are no longer a concern and the soil is well warmed. Thin out after 2 to 3 weeks to keep only the most vigorous plant. Cover the soil with organic material (compost, clippings, leaves...), which will help maintain soil moisture.
Watering
From sowing or planting, water generously, being careful not to displace the seeds, then regularly during fruit formation. However, once the fruits are formed, during ripening, limit watering.
Seedlings
Care
Intended location
Planting & care advice
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
This item has not been reviewed yet - be the first to leave a review about it.
Recently viewed products
Haven't found what you were looking for?
Hardiness is the lowest winter temperature a plant can endure without suffering serious damage or even dying. However, hardiness is affected by location (a sheltered area, such as a patio), protection (winter cover) and soil type (hardiness is improved by well-drained soil).
In temperate climates, pruning of spring-flowering shrubs (forsythia, spireas, etc.) should be done just after flowering.
Pruning of summer-flowering shrubs (Indian Lilac, Perovskia, etc.) can be done in winter or spring.
In cold regions as well as with frost-sensitive plants, avoid pruning too early when severe frosts may still occur.
The harvesting period indicated on our website applies to countries and regions in USDA zone 8 (France, England, Ireland, the Netherlands).
In colder areas (Scandinavia, Poland, Austria...) fruit and vegetable harvests are likely to be delayed by 3-4 weeks.
In warmer areas (Italy, Spain, Greece, etc.), harvesting will probably take place earlier, depending on weather conditions.
The sowing periods indicated on our website apply to countries and regions within USDA Zone 8 (France, UK, Ireland, Netherlands).
In colder areas (Scandinavia, Poland, Austria...), delay any outdoor sowing by 3-4 weeks, or sow under glass.
In warmer climes (Italy, Spain, Greece, etc.), bring outdoor sowing forward by a few weeks.
The planting period indicated on our website applies to regions in USDA Zone 9a (East Coast and Midlands: Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny, Portlaoise). It will vary depending on where you live:
- On the west coast and in the north-west (Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Donegal, Westport), delay planting by 1 to 2 weeks in spring and bring it forward by 1 to 2 weeks in autumn compared to the dates given, preferably choosing periods without strong winds.
- In the inland hills and plateaus (Wicklow Mountains, Macgillycuddy’s Reeks, Connemara, Killarney), it is best to plant in spring (April–May) or autumn (September–October), avoiding periods of waterlogged soil in winter and strong winds, which pose the main risk to newly planted trees in these areas.
The flowering period indicated on our website applies to regions in USDA Zone 9a, such as the East Coast and Midlands, including Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny and Portlaoise.
This will vary depending on where you live:
- On the west coast and in the northwest (Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Donegal and Westport), it will be delayed by one to two weeks compared to the given dates, due to stronger Atlantic winds and less spring sunshine.
- In the inland hills and plateaus (the Wicklow Mountains, the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, Connemara and Killarney), flowering will be delayed by two to three weeks. Flowering mainly occurs between May and July, with the limiting factors being less frost and more of the excessive humidity, strong winds and lack of sunshine that are characteristic of these areas.
Shipping country and language
Your country of residence may be:
Your country of residence is:
For a better user experience on our website, you can select:
Your shipping country:
-
Austria
-
Belgium
-
Bosnia & Herzegovina
-
Bulgaria
-
Croatia
-
Cyprus
-
Czechia
-
Denmark
-
Estonia
-
Finland
-
France
-
Germany
-
Greece
-
Hungary
-
Iceland
-
Ireland
-
Italy
-
Latvia
-
Liechtenstein
-
Lithuania
-
Luxembourg
-
Malta
-
Netherlands
-
Poland
-
Portugal
-
Romania
-
Serbia
-
Slovakia
-
Slovenia
-
Spain
-
Sweden
-
Switzerland
Language:
-
French
-
English
-
Spanish
-
Italian
-
German
-
Portuguese
-
Dutch
-
Finnish
My Account
Hello
My wish lists
My cart
Log in / Register
Existing customer?
This form is protected by reCAPTCHA - the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
New customer?
Create an account to track your orders, access our customer service and, if you wish, make the most of our upcoming offers.