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

03 Jun 22, Jessy (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Grew my first ever choko this year starting with a whole choko in the ground. Got more than 200 chokos. I like the taste of choko after it started sprouting. So I ended up with a lot of sprouted choko seeds which I planted in the ground. (Only the seeds, no flesh attached to it). They are growing well and I am harvesting the growing tips from them already. If these plants from seeds alone grow big, will they produce chokos? Does the nutritional value of chokos change as they start sprouting? Thanks.
05 Aug 22, Anthony (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Best to plant the whole choko after it has sprouted. I have heard, that just planting the seeds is not as successful .But you can always try right.
17 May 22, Brian (Australia - temperate climate)
Thank you Chris, the feedback I received has given me advice different to what I have been doing with Chokos. I will have to follow up when I know of availability of fruit so that I can purchase them and try again.
15 May 22, Brian Wood (Australia - temperate climate)
Wanting to get Choko fruit for planting in Broken Hill. Not certain when or where to purchase can you help? Would like to talk to NAFISA whose Dec.11 comments could be interesting as it looks as if they also reside in BROKEN HILL.
21 Apr 22, Diana (Australia - temperate climate)
I grew a choko in Melbourne. The plant lived for 3. years. I planted the sprouted fruit on its side never fed it. Had massed and masses of chokos. It died down late winter and sprouted the following year. It grew 20 feet into trees. Was in a very sheltered shady position. Not a warm spot but no frost. I have friends who have grown massive chokos here in our cool temperate climate. It doesn’t like frosts. I can’t imagine a choko in any kind of pot
19 Apr 22, Marlene (New Zealand - temperate climate)
I have been given a couple of chokos and I'd like to grow a vine, maybe in my vegepod or else, in a large pot. I believe the fruit will shoot, when left for a while. I'm not even sure which end of the fruit the shoot will come from and do, I place the whole fruit into the well-nourished soil or just part of it. Thank you.
21 Apr 22, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Plant Dec for your climate zone. Leave one in your pantry and it will start shooting, then plant out. The end from where it attached to the vine when growing.
06 Apr 22, Tim (New Zealand - temperate climate)
I live in Rotorua and planted a choko seedling 3 years ago in a north-facing spot that gets lots of sun and warmth in summer, and where the vines can grow up over and along the deck railings. (This year it has 'taken over', climbing up the old cable of a TV aerial!) Each year it has grown bigger, and this year it has produced a lot of flowers, but these are all male! The cold weather will be here soon, and the top growth will get killed back by the first frosts. I'm thinking that it's a waste of space and the growing season here too short for any fruits to develop. Is there anyone in the Central North Island who has had any success with chokos outdoors, or should I dig it out and use the prime sunny location for something else?
20 Apr 22, Tira Avery (Australia - temperate climate)
Victoria, Australia. We started to grow choko this year as we just learnt that chokos can be a perennial (dying back in winter) here in Victoria. Thai people eat both its young tips and leaves as well as its fruit.
09 Apr 22, Nadege (Australia - arid climate)
Hi there It's always a tough decision to take down a beautiful, healthy plant. If you have something else lined up for the spot then take it down with gratitude and put it in the compost where the nutrients can be recycled. I find that always helps me to do it with this knowledge in mind. Otherwise, if you like it and have nothing else for that spot, keep it and see how it turns out.
Showing 21 - 30 of 268 comments

Victoria, Australia. We started to grow choko this year as we just learnt that chokos can be a perennial (dying back in winter) here in Victoria. Thai people eat both its young tips and leaves as well as its fruit.

- Tira Avery

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