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 15°C and 30°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 100 cm 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

Post a comment or question Display Newest first | Oldest first, Show comments for USA | for all countries
11 Apr 18, Nancy (Australia - temperate climate)
Chokoes have plenty of flowers but no fruit developing
Reply or Post a new comment
12 Apr 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Pollinates by wind or bees. Are they male and female or just male flowers.
Reply or Post a new comment
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
Reply or Post a new comment
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.
Reply or Post a new comment
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.
Reply or Post a new comment
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.
Reply or Post a new comment
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
Reply or Post a new comment
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.
Reply or Post a new comment
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 ?
Reply or Post a new comment
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.
Reply or Post a new comment
Showing 91 - 100 of 224 comments
See comments for all plants

my wife brought home a couple of Chayote that had started sprouting tiny roots out the bottom, so I researched and found that you can carefully split the fruit in half and retrieve the seed, you do not need to plant the entire fruit, but you must be very careful splitting the chayote because the seed is soft, not hard like an avocado or mango, and easily damaged when splitting the fruit. Then I planted them in small starter containers in the kitchen window, and after a few weeks when the shoots had gotten about 2 inches tall, I transplanted them outside into a 5-gallon bucket with a heavy-duty tomato cage as a trellis. A few weeks later one had been eaten by pests and died, but the other is growing and about 6 inches tall. I know this is the wrong timing for growing chayote, but since the seeds had already sprouted roots, I wanted to see what I could do with them. If the one remaining vine survives the winter here in Zone 10A, like my tomatoes and eggplants usually do, maybe it will flower and fruit next year. If a seed package or even a very reputable web site like Gardenate posts a recommended panting time, and your circumstances don't match that recommended timing, try it anyway, you never know what the results might be unless you try. I'll plant potatoes year-round whenever I have any potatoes sprouting slips. I may only get a few baby potatoes when panted "out of season", but it was either try to grow the sprouts or add them to the compost bin. I also grow garlic in Zone 10A even though it is recommended not to. They are smaller than if grown in better climates, but small garlic is better than no garlic, it still tastes great, just use two cloves instead of one.

- dz

Please provide your email address if you are hoping for a reply


All comments are reviewed before displaying on the site, so your posting will not appear immediately

Gardenate App

Put Gardenate in your pocket. Get our app for iPhone, iPad or Android to add your own plants and record your plantings and harvests

Planting Reminders

Join 60,000+ gardeners who already use Gardenate and subscribe to the free Gardenate planting reminders email newsletter.


Home | Vegetables and herbs to plant | Climate zones | About Gardenate | Contact us | Privacy Policy

This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
We cannot help if you are overrun by giant slugs.