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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11 Apr 18, Nancy (Australia - temperate climate)
Chokoes have plenty of flowers but no fruit developing
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12 Apr 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Pollinates by wind or bees. Are they male and female or just male flowers.
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17 Mar 18, kathleen ingram (Australia - temperate climate)
Questioun Trying to grow a choko i live in cooma nsw can i grow it in a hot house (green house ) could u tell me when it will start flowering please any help would be gratefull thank u
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18 Mar 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
It says plant in warm climates. Plant in temperate zone in Dec. I think it maybe too late to plant now. If it has a sprout plant it.
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10 Feb 18, Suzanne R White (Australia - temperate climate)
Wondering why the leaves of my growing choko are yellowing. Overwatering or under watering.? Maybe mineral deficiency.
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12 Feb 18, Mike (Australia - temperate climate)
Consider how fertile your soil is. Add some fertiliser (N). You should know if you are over watering. Big plants water each couple of days depending on the temp. Put some trace elements on - Bunnings $10.
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07 Feb 18, Brett (Australia - temperate climate)
I live in the Mallee I'd love to grow these , but it gets in the high 30-40 here in summer what the best I can do . I should be able to plant early if they can take a bit of frost
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07 Feb 18, Mike (Australia - temperate climate)
It says to plant in December in the temperate zone, so you are about 5 weeks late. If you have a choko that is shooting, plant it.
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12 Feb 18, Brett Chanter (Australia - temperate climate)
No I don't , Ill have to see if I can find one . Would it be to late for this area you think ?
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13 Feb 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
You can try - the times here are only a guide - they are not perfect all the time - if it doesn't work plant earlier next time. An idea is to buy a choko a couple of months earlier than planting - put it down the bottom of the pantry in the cool dark place. It will probably start to shoot after awhile. Come Dec plant it in the soil.
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Showing 91 - 100 of 224 comments
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Hi Paul, Given that choko have little problem with diseases there could be 2 reasons for the yellow leaves. The first is that the soil pH is wrong for it. If the plant has a pH soil outside the range of 6.0 to 6.8, it will not be able to take up the nutrients present in the soil. Which brings me to the second reason; chokos like sandy loamy soil, so while they need good water, it has to be in a medium where the soil doesn't get soggy otherwise it can kill your plant. Your plant may wilt during the day from the heat (through transpiration) but that is not necessarily a bad thing and doesn't mean they are dry, and they will pick up again in the evening. To see if there is a problem with this you can check the soil up to 12 inches from the base of plant. Hope that helps Bret

- Bret Hemberg

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