Excelsior Cucumber
Cucumis sativus 'Excelsior'
Height: 12 inches
Spacing: 8 inches
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: (annual)
Description:
A vigorous, high yielding variety featuring an open habit, making harvesting easier; produces dark green, blocky cucumbers throughout the summer months; consistent harvesting ensures good yields; crisp and delicious, a perfect pickling type
Edible Qualities
Excelsior Cucumber is an annual vegetable plant that is typically grown for its edible qualities. It produces small dark green long cucumbers (which are technically 'berries') with light green flesh which can be harvested at any point. The cucumbers have a delicious taste and a crisp texture.
The cucumbers are most often used in the following ways:
- Fresh Eating
- Eating When Cooked/Prepared
- Pickling
Planting & Growing
Excelsior Cucumber will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 feet. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 8 inches 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 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. This plant is a heavy feeder that requires frequent fertilizing throughout the growing season to perform at its best. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.
Excelsior Cucumber is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing the canvas against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
