Wild Card Watermelon
Citrullus lanatus 'Wild Card'
Height: 12 inches
Spacing: 3 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: (annual)
Group/Class: Triploid
Description:
A vigorous, non-harvested pollinator variety that produces an abundance of flowers throughout the growing season; an exceptional choice for an early pollen source; develops small fruit with green rinds and dark green tiger stripes
Edible Qualities
Wild Card Watermelon is an annual vegetable plant that is commonly grown for its edible qualities. It produces large red oval fruit (technically 'drupes') in soft shells with dark green stripes and rose flesh which are typically harvested when mature. The fruits have a bland taste.
The fruit are most often used in the following ways:
- Fresh Eating
- Juice-Making
Planting & Growing
Wild Card Watermelon will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 feet. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 3 feet apart. This vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop. This is a female variety of the species which requires a male selection of the same species growing nearby in order to set fruit.
This plant is typically grown in a designated vegetable garden. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.
