Chayote plant grow and care – herbaceous vine of the genus Sechium also known as Chayote squash or Chuchu, Chayote plant is perennial plant but can grow as annual plant, mostly used for edible fruits also the tuber and the leaves edible can grow in mediterranean, subtropics or tropics climate and growing in hardiness zone 8-10 as annual and 11+ as perennial.
Leaves are edible when they are young and tender after that the leaves become hairy, the shape of the leaves is maple leaf shape.
Flower color is white, there are female and male flower.
Chayote plant edible fruits
Fruits edible are pear shaped, the color fruit are green or yellow. The weight is 100-900 gram, size 7-20 cm, the peal also edible and seeds are green-white and edible, taste reminds kohlrabi taste when eaten raw, recommend to harvest the fruit when it’s still soft, young and fully grown.
Tuber is edible brown skin and white from the inside
How to care: Add organic matter, fertilize twice a year, cover with mulch
What is the best way to start growing? Seedling / Seed / vegetative reproduction – cutting
Is it necessary to graft or use vegetative reproduction? The seeds are part of the fruits and it’s impossible to separate them from the fruits, and it’s easy to start by cutting
Difficulties or problems when growing: Aggressive
Planting season: Spring in hardiness zone 8-10, spring to summer in hardiness zone 11, all the year in hardiness zone 12+.
How to plant: Planting in well ventilated soil, dig bigger hole than the plant and put organic matter, humus and dead leaves
Pests and diseases: Powdery mildew, aphids, moth, virus, beetles
Pruning season: No need. But possible all the season
How to prune: Infected leaves needed to take out, pruning mostly for design and easy pickup
Size of the plant: 5-10 m, 15-30 feet
Growth speed in Chayote plant: Fast growing
Chayote plant Irrigation Water Management: Average amount of water to big amount of water
Water requirement: Full Sun
Is it possible to grow indoor as houseplant? No
Growing is also possible in a pot / planter /flowerpot / containers: Yes
How to plant chayote in container: Planting in containers need to be at least 20L (5 gallons), well-drained soil, the plant not react well to overwater, need to make enough holes in the container for good drainage also choosing soil for container important and need to be soil well ventilated, can be potting mix or peat soil with perlite, when use bottom for the pot need that it will dry in the same day.
Blooming information
Bloom season: Late spring to summer autumn (in the tropical all year)
General information about the flower White flower with five lobs, there are female and male flowers
Thinning the bloom: Sometimes happened because disease or not enough water
Pollination is done by: Bees and more pollinators, by hand
Edible Fruits
Fruit harvest season: Summer to autumn (in the tropical all year)
Fruits pests or diseases: Powdery mildew
What can be done with big quantities of Chayote plant fruits? Cooked, baked, grilled, stir fry, fry, eaten raw
Work requirements on the fruit: Trellising
How long does it take to bear fruit? 120-150 days (4-5 month)
Edible leaves
Leaves harvesting season: All year
How to harvest the leaves? From the base of the leaves
Information about leaves: The shape of the leaves is maple leaf shape, the color light green
