Annual vegetable
Pumpkin plant profile
Cucurbita pepo (giant pumpkins are C. maxima)
An annual vegetable for full sun.
Last updated .
When to plant
When to plant Pumpkin
Direct sow
at your last spring frost to 2 weeks after your last spring frost
Growing conditions
- Sun
- Full sun
- Planting depth
- 1 in
- Soil pH
- 6.2 to 6.5
- Lifecycle
- Annual
- Spacing
- 36 to 60 in apart, rows 72 in
- Days to maturity
- 70 to 120 days (from sowing)
Common problems
Watch for these
- squash vine borer
- squash bug
- cucumber beetles
- aphids
- bacterial wilt
- powdery mildew
- downy mildew
- anthracnose
Also watch for: pickleworm, seed corn maggot, fruit rot.
By hardiness zone
Pumpkin by zone
Planting dates for a typical location in each zone:
Evidence trail
Evidence behind this profile
Original extension and institutional publications behind the planting, care, and safety facts on this page.
- Pumpkins & Winter Squash (HGIC 1318)
Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center. Supports direct-sowing timing (normalized), days to maturity (direct), plant and row spacing (direct), planting depth (direct), soil pH (direct), and common problems (direct). Checked 2026-06-11.