Pumpkin perennial hybrid (Cucurbita ficifolia x foetidissima) F1 generation - 3 fresh seeds

These are hybrid seeds of two pumpkin species:

- the figleaf pumpkin (Cucurbita ficifolia), which produces large, edible fruit and is a perennial that grows in tropical mountains (it doesn't tolerate frost).

- and the perennial pumpkin ("buffalo gourd") (Cucurbita foetidissima), which is also a perennial but tolerates frosts down to about (-25) - (-30) Celsius degrees, but its fruit is small and bitter.

We don't know if our hybrid is fertile. We sowed five of its seeds to see if they would germinate, even though it was quite late for sowing pumpkins. All five germinated. We're very curious to see if the hybrid will produce fruit. ...this could be a stepping stone to obtaining a perennial, edible pumpkin, but time will tell if we or any of you will succeed in achieving this goal. For now, we are hopeful because the plants are flowering - they are producing both female and male flowers.

Creating this hybrid was difficult. By two years, we pollinated numerous C. ficifolia flowers with C. foetidissima pollen (different varieties and accessions). Most attempts were unsuccessful. But we did obtain two fruits. These fruits ripened for almost two years after harvest. When they finally ripened, we removed the seeds. There aren't many of them, because the hybrid fruits were small, much smaller than the "pure" ones.

We are probably the second growers in the world to obtain this hybrid. The exact characteristics of the plants remain to be seen once they have matured. We don't know for sure yet.

We recommend sowing these seeds in their permanent location in spring, once the danger of frost has passed and the weather is warm. Or grow them from seedlings sown about a month before planting them in the garden. Plant them carefully to avoid damaging the roots. We can't guarantee that you'll get plants from these seeds, as there are many mistakes you can make that could result in germination failure. However, we guarantee that we send you viable seeds—we know because we've tested germination.