Fred Hsu ( Wikipedia:User:Fred Hsu on en.wikipedia ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Watermelon
Plant·Citrullus lanatus
Full sun
Sun
Medium
Water
Well-drained soil
Drainage
Zones 2–11
Hardiness
Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a plant. It grows best in full sun and has moderate water needs. It grows well with common bean and corn maize.
Through the year
Out of seasonLeafing outFruitingReady to harvestDying back
Works well with
from wiki dataWHAT IT NEEDS
Wants full sun
Needs moderate water
Needs well-drained soil
Prefers soil pH 6–7
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Prefers sandy loam, loam soil
Struggles in compacted soil
Adds a moderate amount of organic matter to the soil
Partners with mycorrhizal fungi to boost nutrient uptake
WHAT IT GIVES
Gives fruit (edible fruit)
Gives ground cover (moderate ground cover from sprawling vines)
Gives organic matter (moderate leaf litter and vine biomass at end of season)
Attracts pollinators
HOW IT GROWS
SIZE & SPACING
Ground cover
Height30–60 cm
Spacing180 cm (min 120 cm)
Root depthMedium
Width180–300 cm
Width figures are rough estimates, the most variable measurement in our data.
AI estimate · accuracy improves as growers contribute corrections.
HOW TO PROPAGATE
Propagate by seed
Difficulty
Establishes in about 1 yr
Doesn't self-seed on its own
Where this comes from
Parsed11 Sept 2026
ConfidenceNot recorded
Photograph Fred Hsu ( Wikipedia:User:Fred Hsu on en.wikipedia ) · CC BY-SA 3.0