Growing Choko/Chayote, also Chayote squash, christophene, chouchou, mirliton

Sechium edule : Cucurbitaceae / the gourd family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec

Not recommended for growing in USA - Zone 5a regions

  • Easy to grow. Plant whole mature fruit when one produces a shoot at one end.. Best planted at soil temperatures between 59°F and 86°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 39 inches apart
  • Harvest in 17-25 weeks. Best when fruit is light green and not more than 6 cm long.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Cucumbers

Your comments and tips

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05 Aug 22, Anthony (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
buy a whole choko from the store set aside indoors ( maybe in a fruit bowl ) and it will sprout a vine on its own Then plant the whole thing .. i have a posting becoming available, that will explain the process after that
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05 Nov 21, (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Buy seeds online or buy a choko and wait until it starts sending out a shoot and then plant.
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01 Sep 21, Johnny Leech (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Will choko grow in a cold area in North Canterbury
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07 Sep 21, (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
No, they need warm weather by the look of it.
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27 Apr 21, Betty (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
We plan to move within 6 months and I want my choko to come with us. How can I keep a choko fruit so I can plant it in our new garden? I have fruit now. Or what would you advise Thanks? Thanks.
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28 Apr 21, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Best I can suggest is keep a few of the very last ones of this crop. Put them in the pantry. They could take a few months before they start to sprout. The new vine could grow a few feet long by the time you plant. Or say spring time plant them in a 9L bucket or tin etc and grow them there until plant out time.
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22 Apr 21, Rowena Flood (Australia - temperate climate)
Does anyone have choko's growing in tasmania
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29 Apr 21, (Australia - temperate climate)
Very unlikely unless they are in a temperate or subtropical climate.
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05 Feb 21, Sue (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Would I be able to grow a choko in stanthorpe qld
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10 Feb 21, Karen (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
yes, but it will die off in Winter - just trim, leaving root in the ground, cover with straw, and it will shoot up again in spring
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Showing 41 - 50 of 268 comments
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After the fruiting season, cut back the choko vines to four or five short vines to grow for the next season. Chokos are best picked when they are young, because they are more tender and can be eaten with their skin on.May 3, 2019.

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