Cucumber
Cucumis sativus
Also called Cucumbers
Garden plant · Herbs, veg & fruitThirsty and hungry. A dry week gives you bitter fruit, and bitterness doesn't wash out.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Hard
- Water
- Every 2 daysWater the ground — water at the base, in the morning, not over the leaves.
- Light
- Full sun
- Feed
- Every 10 days
- Humidity
- High
- Hardiness
- Indoors, or out in high summer RHS H1B, to 10°C
- Size
- 0.3 m tall · 2 m across
- Lifecycle
- Annual
- Origin
- South Asia
Is it safe for pets and people?
PetsSafe for pets
PeopleNothing recorded against it
Safe to eat: fruit.
Checked against ASPCA, Johnny's Selected Seeds and Clemson HGIC on 2026-07-31.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- Round white dusty patches on the upper side of the oldest leaves nearest the root, before any leaf has browned.Powdery mildew · disease
- New leaves open puckered and mottled in blotches of yellow and green, and the fruit behind them comes small, warty and bitter.Cucumber mosaic virus · disease
- Tiny white flies scatter up from the leaf undersides when the vine is moved, and the leaves below go sticky then sooty.Glasshouse whitefly · pest