A garden or garden is also a place of rest for the whole family, which should look beautiful, please the eye with fresh greenery. Beautiful climbing plants that braid the gazebo, creating a pleasant penumbra, bright multi-colored pumpkins ripening against their background - all this makes your site especially attractive. It is not difficult to create such beauty. It is necessary to buy decorative pumpkin seeds and take care of the plant. It is easy to do this, because. it is unpretentious.

Decorative pumpkin has many varieties

About pumpkin

Decorative pumpkin is rapidly gaining popularity, because. its advantages will not leave indifferent even an experienced gardener. In addition, a beginner can also grow it, because. she is unpretentious. If you want to plant something with your child, this plant is perfect, because. shoots, flowers and fruits quickly appear. Children are impatient, they want to immediately see the result of their work.

Why is it worth growing?

The decorative pumpkin has many advantages, because of which gardeners and gardeners love it so much. Consider the benefits of this plant.

• It will make your garden even more beautiful. Long, curly loops of a plant with leaves, against which bright flowers first appear, and then multi-colored fruits - this is very beautiful. You can sprout decorative gourds around the gazebo, or you can decorate the fence with them. If you have flowerpots in your garden, you can plant bush forms of decorative pumpkins in them.
• Grows fast. This gourd grows fast, so your garden will be full of greenery within a few weeks. The "Green Screen" of 2.5 m will grow already during June, and in July the pumpkin will begin to bloom, by August the first fruits will already appear on it. In one season, the stems grow up to 6 m.
• Variety of varieties. If an ordinary pumpkin is either round or slightly elongated, then a decorative pumpkin has a huge number of varieties and shapes. Anything can grow in the garden if you bought mixed seeds: pear-shaped pumpkins, tangerine-like ones, star-shaped ones, etc.

Get craft supplies

If you properly dry these pumpkins, they will be the decoration of your home. Create autumn compositions, give miniature pumpkins to your friends and acquaintances.

Those who have children preschool age, too, will appreciate this beauty. They can either play with these pumpkins, or use them for autumn crafts in the garden. Parents know that such craft competitions are held in kindergartens every year.

Decorative pumpkin can decorate any garden

Edible or not

People with a practical mindset are primarily interested in the question of whether it is possible to eat the fruits of this plant. The decorative gourd is not edible, it is grown only as an ornament.

Although some species can be eaten, they have tasty pulp. This refers to the turban gourd, which has sweet flesh. You can also eat a white pumpkin of the Baby Boo variety. Sometimes conflicting information is indicated on seed packets. The same varieties are called both edible and inedible. But you can only eat decorative pumpkins while they are not ripe. When ripe, pumpkins become coarse. They can no longer be fed to livestock or eaten.

White pumpkin Baby Boo is very beautiful and has a pleasant taste

Varieties

There are a huge number of varieties of decorative pumpkin. They are sold as mixtures. Often, mixtures are collected for a reason, but for some reason. So, the "Crown" mixture produces fruits that are similar in shape to stars, and the "Turkish Turban" is turban-shaped pumpkins.

Turkish turban

"Turkish turban" fell in love with gardeners also because it can be eaten, unlike most decorative pumpkins. Soup, porridge, stew are cooked from such pumpkins. In addition, the "Turkish turban" is well kept. Someone thinks that by name it resembles this headdress, but our compatriots compare the pumpkin of this variety with a mushroom or an acorn.

Turkish turban - an edible variety of decorative gourd

Orange

Already by the name you can see what these fruits look like. They grow small, weigh only 200-300 g. Their color is orange, the pumpkins themselves are round. They look very beautiful on a green coverlet of leaves.

tangerine

Similar to this citrus, also round and orange.

baby boo

These are small white pumpkins that grow up to 10 cm. Their rind is smooth. The flesh is also white and can be eaten.

sweet dumpling

This variety is distinguished by ribbed pumpkins that grow up to 500 g. Its ribs are white or yellowish in color, between which dark stripes decorated with white specks are clearly visible.

Kleine Bicolor

They look like a pear, which is painted in two colors. The lower part of the fruit is dark green, with yellow stripes, and the upper part is yellow.

Kleine Bicolor pumpkin looks like a striped pear

These are not all types of decorative pumpkins, there are a lot of them. It is not necessary to choose a specific variety, then the type of pumpkin will be a pleasant surprise.

In the form of pumpkins are:

• Star-shaped. Look like a starfish or a crown.
• Warty. Covered with bumps that look like warts.
• Pear-shaped. Reminds me of this fruit.
• Tangerines or oranges. Similar to this citrus.

Sweet Dumpling pumpkins

cultivation

Growing an ornamental pumpkin is very similar to growing a regular pumpkin. But this annual plant unpretentious, so you don’t have to mess with it much. They have large seeds. First, pre-sowing preparation of seeds is carried out according to all the rules: disinfection, hardening, germination. Then the seeds are planted in open ground or through seedlings.

Seedling

If you decide to grow decorative pumpkin seedlings, the seeds are planted in the ground in late April or early May. It is not recommended to transplant it, so they immediately take pots with a diameter of 15 cm. The first 10-12 days after emergence, the seedlings are stretched, and then their growth slows down. At this time, ringing is done when the seedlings are covered with earth so that only the cotyledon leaves are visible.

Plants are fed twice with different mineral fertilizers or slurry. You can plant seedlings in the ground after 25-30 days, when 3-5 true leaves appear.

Seedlings are planted in early June. Choose a warm area with light loamy soil for planting. The earth is first dug, and then fertilized with manure (5-8 kg per 1 square meter) and compost or potash (20 g), phosphate (30 g) fertilizers. Before planting, the wells are thoroughly watered, at least 1 liter per plant.

Decorative pumpkins will grow well if seedlings are planted in well-heated ground.

seeds

If you do not want to mess with seedlings, growing from seeds is also allowed. Seeds are planted on May 10-15, if the soil at that time has warmed up to 13 degrees. Remember that this is not a frost-resistant plant, it does not withstand even small colds - 1 ° C. Therefore, do not plant it if it is still too cold outside. This planting method is not suitable if you have frosts. Seeds are planted to a depth of 6 cm if the soil is medium loamy, and 10 cm is light. You can cover them with a film on top.

Care

Plant care is the same as for a regular pumpkin. It needs to be watered often, do not forget to fertilize it. It is better to use organic fertilizers for feeding. The first top dressing is done 2 weeks after the sprouts hatch, the second - when the ovaries appear. Do not forget to loosen it and weed it.

Each plant can produce 20 to 40 small gourds. The brighter place you choose for a decorative pumpkin, the more fruits you will get.

Don't forget to give the pumpkin a secure base. The plant gains significant weight over time. If the summer is warm, rainy, this pumpkin will grow especially strongly.

Harvest pumpkins only when they are ripe. Such pumpkins are stored for several years. But do not delay harvesting until the first frost, otherwise they will quickly deteriorate. Coat the pumpkins with varnish.

Some of us love pumpkin, many of us know special recipes to make pumpkin dishes tasty and healthy. But few of us know that there are special varieties of pumpkins that are grown not for food, but in order to make decorative ornaments out of it. These types include decorative pumpkin.

In European culture and the United States, these varieties have long been in vogue and many Western gardeners grow these varieties to decorate the facades of their homes, wedding ceremonies, and much more. But can these varieties be eaten, and what kind of pumpkin is this - more on that.

A climbing annual plant grown to decorate their personal plots as well as house facades. In addition, pear-shaped pumpkin crafts will become a real decoration at children's exhibitions and festivals. Outwardly, she is very much like her garden relative. Growing it is not difficult.

Shoots grow very quickly and reach 2 m in length (although there are observations when the length reached 4 - 6 meters). But they are much thinner than that of an ordinary pumpkin. There are also bush varieties that are planted along the terraces to decorate them with their appearance. The leaves of the decorative species are slightly thinner than the original. But, depending on the variety, the color and appearance may vary.

And as the shoot develops, white flowers will begin to appear on it, which form the ovary of a future decorative pumpkin.

The fruits of this species usually have a size of no more than 10 - 15 cm in diameter. And during the summer season, from 20 to 40 small pumpkins can form on one shoot. But the most important thing is that all fruits have the most diverse color.

Therefore, many designers and stylists use this material to create truly unique masterpieces. And the gardeners themselves amaze guests with unusual creative developments. Just look at these photos.

How to Grow and Care for Ornamental Pumpkins

In order to grow on garden plot such beauty, it does not require much effort. Curly decorative pumpkin does not require special specific skills and abilities. To do this, you need to know only a few simple tricks.

Ornamental pumpkins grow well in well-lit areas. But they still need to do a little darkening. The soil should be loose, fertile and saturated with neutral or weak acidity.

Before you start planting seeds, it is best to germinate them in a dark and warm place. It should be noted that planting a decorative pumpkin can be done in two ways:

1. With seedlings. In this case, it is best to start sowing from April 25 to May 5. Seeds are planted one by one in deep containers, where loose and saturated nutrients the soil. And then they put it in the greenhouse.
2. Direct sowing in open ground. This method is done in early June, after the frosts finally end. And for this they need to be transplanted along with the ground. But this must be done carefully so as not to damage the root. The distance between the shoots should be at least 20 - 30 cm.

You should know that the plant is vulnerable to low temperatures and does not tolerate a decrease even by one degree. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare the bed in advance so that the night cold does not destroy the crop.

To care for a decorative pumpkin, you just need to loosen the soil from time to time, and water the plant during it. And like any other pumpkins, spring fertilizers are best for it (organic fertilizers are best).

When the first shoots sprout, it will be necessary to make the first top dressing. And when the ovary appears, fertilizers are added again.

Usually the plant does not require shoots to be artificially formed. But sometimes it is necessary to pinch when the shoot reaches a meter length. This is done to speed up the growth of side shoots.

Since the decorative pumpkin is predominantly a climbing species, therefore, it needs to be provided with a stable support. This support must withstand, albeit small, but heavy fruits, as well as winding dense shoots. And when the first autumn colds come, it will be necessary to cover all the shoots with special material so that the plant does not die and gives a harvest the next year.

How to harvest properly

If the decorative pumpkin is not properly cared for, it can be affected by various diseases. If such diseases have affected the plant, it is necessary to remove the infected part, and treat this place with either a fungicide or an insecticide.

After the fruit ripens and the stem dries, it must be carefully torn off together with the stem and put to dry. The fruits are placed in one row, and so that the edges do not touch each other. At the same time, the room should be well ventilated, and direct sunlight should not fall on the peel so that the color does not lose its color. This process takes about a week proper care. And the pulp can dry up to 6 months. Periodically, the fruits should be checked for the presence of rot, lethargy and mold. To understand that the pumpkin is completely dry, you need to shake it. The seeds inside should rustle. Everything - the material for decor is ready.

Is a decorative pumpkin good for food

The ornamental gourd was originally grown as a form from which a wide variety of decorations could be made. Therefore, the nutritional qualities of this plant are out of the question. Because a ripe pumpkin has a hard skin and no nutrients.

But some varieties, not yet ripened, and still have a soft shell and pulp, can be used in cooking. But for this, an ordinary pumpkin is best suited. Is it possible to eat it? Definitely yes. BUT decorative option must be used in design ideas and needlework. Usually, gardeners wait for the fruit to ripen and fade, the skin to become thick and rough, and the stalk to shrivel.

How to deal with pests

As already mentioned - with improper care, the pumpkin can be affected by a wide variety of diseases and garden pests. And if the plant is struck by some kind of disease, urgent action must be taken.

Powdery mildew - white spots appear on the entire surface of the fruit, stems and shoots, which dry out. This disease appears due to the fact that the plant lacks sunlight. Or a sudden drop in temperature. In order to get rid of the disease, it is necessary to spray the plant chemicals. But the affected fruits will have to be destroyed.

White rot manifests itself in such a way that the surface of the plant is covered with a growth similar to cotton wool. And also the affected places begin to sweat, as it were. This disease is the cause high humidity. Therefore, the affected areas are carefully cut off and processed with chalk or charcoal.

Root rot affects the stem and root. And the cause of the disease is soil fungi that infect the plant if it grows poorly. Poet the best way To prevent disease, you need to disinfect the seeds themselves before planting. You can save the plant only in the early stages, adding humus or peat.

Bacteriosis most often infects leaves, but it can also affect fruits with shoots. Looks like angular brown spots. It is active in humid environments. And for prevention, plants are treated with a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid.

Slugs affect not only pumpkin. They are considered the scourge of all vegetables. They are mostly found on rainy days. Get rid of them with a mixture of slaked lime and ash.

Decorative curly pear

For gardeners who decide to get serious decorative species plants, you should pay attention to this plant. Curly pear is somewhat reminiscent of a decorative pumpkin. This plant is grown for its appearance to enjoy the beauty of the tree. The fruits do not have a pleasant taste. But the foliage acquires a beautiful red hue in autumn, and blooms with snow-white flowers in spring.

This plant can be safely combined with a decorative pumpkin. For example, a pumpkin in the form of a mushroom will look good near a pear. And if the gardener shows ingenuity and creative imagination, then the area around the tree will truly become a paradise for the owner of the site. Therefore, to the question: “What to do with it,” you can safely answer: “Yes, anything.”

The ornamental pumpkin has been sectioned for those gardeners who want to grow on their plot not only those plants that are used for food, but also turn their plot into a small paradise for themselves. As you can see, to grow this plant, you do not need to put so much effort. Decorative pumpkin grows quickly, gives good harvest but it is very sensitive to low temperatures. Therefore, if your site is located in the northern latitudes, you must prepare all the conditions in advance so that the plant is comfortable. And the fruits can be used for various crafts, as well as beautifully decorate your site.

​Related Articles​
​...​

Thus, you can get the first harvest of summer pumpkins already at the end of June - and until September. A couple of plants will be enough to provide vegetables for a family of 3.​

There are also miniature varieties pumpkins. For example, ‘Jack be Little’ pumpkins weigh only 200-300 grams and are about the size of a child’s fist. Such "portioned" pumpkins are convenient to use - it is convenient to cook from them. And you can grow them in a limited space - even on a balcony. Firstly, she has very large seeds, and even the smallest child will cope with their planting. Decorative pumpkin is not only an original plant, but also very unpretentious and, most importantly, extremely practical: with the help of its tendrils, this vine is able to climb up to a height of 4 m in just one summer, decorating an arch, gazebo, fence or house wall. ​ Of the five seeds sown, four sprouted. When I dug out the planting site of the fifth seed, I saw that under it there was a piece of old slate in the ground - this killed the sprout.(Lagenaria siceraria),

Ten Praises

Decorative pumpkins.

​Part 4 - Wax Gourd​

In fruits, the skin should be smooth and shiny, rough or rumpled summer pumpkins lose not only taste, but also most of the vitamins. In general, because of the delicate skin, the fruits of zucchini and squash are very poorly stored, but they cook instantly - 7-10 minutes are enough to get a delicious vegetable stew.

However, the most popular varieties of pumpkins are medium in size. Such pumpkins are quite convenient in growing and storing, for which gardeners love them so much. In Europe, one of the most popular varieties is ‘Hokkaido’. These are classic pumpkins - their color is orange-red (both in the peel and in the pulp), and they weigh 2-3 kilograms. Our domestic midi varieties are more popular with us, such as ‘Kroshka’, ‘Bush Orange’, ‘Smile’, ‘Michurinskaya’, ‘Healing’.​

Secondly, the decorative pumpkin grows at a tremendous speed (especially if the summer is hot and there is sufficient watering), and the baby will be able to quickly see the results of his work.

For some reason, the most popular question about a decorative pumpkin is: “Is it edible?”. It seems that the times are by no means hungry now, but, apparently, the very word “pumpkin” evokes indispensable associations with cooking, and not at all with beauty!

Luffa grew rapidly, and with it my interest in gardening grew. I had to look on the Internet and find out the rules for growing it, where it was advised to actively apply the "method of chasing lateral shoots to the ovary."

Also called bottle gourd. Its fruits can be even green in color or have a marbled green-white pattern, and the shape can be from the classic shape of a pot-bellied vessel with a neck 20 cm high, like in the “Pumpkin-vessels” mixture, to a straight or curved baton.

maxima Cucurbita Baby BooSmall-fruited mixture ​Part 5 - Growing watermelons​ Many varieties of summer pumpkins have quite decorative flowers and fruits - so even if for some reason you have not acquired a full-fledged garden, zucchini can be planted, for example ... in a flower garden! It will look quite impressive - especially for yellow-fruited varieties. Thirdly, small children are very fond of messing with water, and therefore they love to water everything. And a decorative pumpkin needs frequent watering! So: while the fruits of the decorative pumpkin are still small, their skin is soft, you can eat them. But why? Indeed, even at such a young age, they are very much inferior in taste to their closest relatives from the same pumpkin family: zucchini, zucchini, squash and real large pumpkins. So, leave the decorative pumpkin for decoration, and eat something else instead! On reflection, I decided not to. Firstly, I did not know what "chasing" was, and where to "tie" the shoots. And then - I really wanted my luffa to grow in absolutely "natural" conditions, without the intervention of human hands.​ For thousands of years, this ancient pumpkin culture has been used to make various containers. Tender-skinned greens are used all over the world in cooking, like cucumbers and zucchini, with which lagenaria is similar in taste, for which it is often called Vietnamese zucchini or Indian cucumber.var. pepo

More rare are two more species -

Buying decorative pumpkin seeds, many do not even imagine what a variety lies under the name “Decorative pumpkin. Mixture". By planting these spectacular fast growing vines, you will have a whole botanical community of all kinds and forms belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family. Let's try to understand this issue in more detail.​ ​Part 6 - Pumpkin - Harvest in Large Format​ And, finally, absolutely all children like its miniature, very bright and unusual fruits: there is something like a toy-doll in them. In addition, the fruits can be dried and painted with special paints and varnish (here you will need the help of adults). Your child will be happy to brag about them to friends and relatives. By the way, even the most primitive children's drawings look very unusual on small pumpkins!​ The ideal place for planting a decorative pumpkin is next to a vertical support (for example, a chain-link fence or a south wall of some outbuildings). That is, for a decorative pumpkin, everything that you want to decorate with something is suitable as a support in the garden. I watered the plants several times over the summer. Decorative pumpkins in the garden turbaniformis) var. vicoleaf pumpkin The most common seeds on sale

Part 7 - Smart melon. How easy it is to grow watermelons, melons.​

​‘Smile’​

Until recently, only mixtures could be found in stores different varieties decorative pumpkin. Sometimes there were also series of varieties selected on a certain basis (for example, "Mosaic" and "Starfall", produced by the "NK" corporation).

However, a decorative pumpkin can also be used in the front part of the garden, letting it lash over a gazebo, pergola or arch (for example, separating a garden from flower beds). A pumpkin looks very unusual on the trunk of an old withered apple tree, which you still can’t cut down. In general, the pumpkin looks especially good in gardens in the now fashionable rural style, where garden and flower bed plants often coexist. All my further participation in the cultivation of these vines was reduced to the contemplation of the flowering of huge yellow flowers and the development of fruits. I photographed the stages of growth of the luffa and told many friends "what kind of washcloths I will have" ...​A. Tolokonnikova (Novocherkassk)​ evokes different associations in people. As the name implies, it reminds someone of a turban, someone of a mushroom, and in the Catholic world it has acquired the name "bishop's mitre". This is a type of pumpkin ovifera) ​(​ Pumpkin ordinary curly, or small-fruited Part 8 - Watermelon "Spark" personal experience of growing

​‘Medicinal’ Then the Poisk company pleased gardeners no longer with mixtures, but with individual varieties of decorative pumpkin. For example, in the Shahrazade series, you can find such varieties as bright orange "Turkish Turban", multi-colored "Stars" and "Baby Creamy White", and in the Kaleidoscope series - varieties "Two-color ball", "Orange ball" and “Warty Mix”. But at the “Novorussian” dachas in the classic style of a regular park, the pumpkin will look too primitive and rude, dissonant with the roses and thujas that are obligatory in such cases. As a result, I harvested four luffa lianas from 32 fruits. Of these, real washcloths turned out to be two dozen. All named pumpkin are suitable for quick vertical gardening. These are tendril-bearing herbaceous vines, rising along the support to a height of 4-6 m, and lagenaria - even higher, up to 10-15 m. For her and the heaviest turban-shaped pumpkins, the support must be powerful, and the lashes must also be securely tied up. How ground cover plants, gourds look good on the slopes, in ornamental gardens, suitable for surveying plantings, for decorating compost heaps and outbuildings.(Cucurbita maxima).. Pear-shaped or egg-shaped fruits are tied on very long stems. So far, it is an independent species, but there is an assumption that these are secondarily feral curly pumpkins of Mexican origin, which are now more often classified as

(Cucurbita pepo var.

Part 9 - For lovers of the exotic. Watermelons ​‘Baby’​ In regards to various kinds garden flowers, I am a categorical opponent of the purchase of all kinds of mixtures of seeds. As a rule, they grow up as pretty interesting specimens, and absolutely banal (and most of them). That is, planting seeds from a mixture in the ground, one cannot assume that it will grow as a result. But in the case of decorative pumpkins, I am just an active supporter of mixtures of varieties! The fruits that appear from such mixtures are so unusual and diverse that growing a decorative pumpkin also becomes a very exciting activity: it is always terribly interesting what will result from such identical (at first glance) seeds!

A decorative pumpkin grows very quickly (not a single annual vine can compare with it), and by mid-July the screen from it grows quite high and dense. The pumpkin reaches its maximum decorative effect in August, when it completely curls the support provided to it, creating a solid green screen, decorated with large bright yellow flowers and elegant small fruitlets.

The rest of the fruits did not have time to ripen (probably, after all, it was necessary to "mint" the plants in time).
To get a good harvest, timely early boarding(preferably through seedlings), humus fertile soil, sufficient heat, moisture and sun, and timely pinching of shoots.

It happens both with small, no more than 15 cm, fruits, and with larger ones. For example, the variety "Large-fruited turban" ("Grossfruechtige Turbane") grows up to 30-50 cm in diameter, has a smooth surface, a bright orange-red cap, and below - a white-green marble color. All fruits are individual, on one plant you will not find even a pair of specimens that are identical in shape and color. Despite its size, it belongs to the group of small-fruited red gourds, which are usually bitter and not eaten. However, in this and some other varieties, the flesh is sweet, with a slight nutty aroma, and the taste is superior. vegetable pumpkin hard-barked and large-fruited pumpkin. Other varieties of turban gourd - small turban and large turban - also have sweet yellow-orange flesh and high palatability.

ovifera)

greeninfo.ru

Variety of pumpkin - Luffa, Ornamental pumpkin

Luffa in my garden

Part 10 - Growing melons in a greenhouse. Melon from the greenhouse

The same vegetables that we habitually call pumpkins - winter pumpkins - are left in the beds for as long as possible, allowing them to ripen properly. After all, with each warm day, the pulp of the pumpkin becomes sweeter, and the skin is getting rougher - which gives these vegetables a very good keeping quality.

​‘Bush orange’​
Therefore, when the fruits on the vines of decorative pumpkins from a mixture of seeds begin to set, I check almost every day what kind of miracle I have this time.

Sowing seeds and growing luffa

When choosing a place for a decorative pumpkin, two conditions should be observed.
After drying the fruits of the luffa, as a result of their cleaning, I received not only washcloths, but also a large number of seeds. I specially calculated: 312 seeds were obtained from a medium-sized fruit. Multiply 32 by 312, it's fun...​
Green trellis from a variety of pumpkins look very fun and elegant. The only thing to take into account is that the varieties are well pollinated among themselves and pumpkins grown from own seeds in next year, do not always repeat the external data of the selected fruits. But there might be something new...

The fruits of one of the most decorative varieties hard-barked pumpkin - zucchini

unusually varied fruit shape. There are the following varieties:
Quote:

When the time comes, the pumpkins are cut from the stems, leaving a stump of 4-5 cm. If the autumn is dry, then the pumpkins can be left to lie on the beds for 4-7 days. But if there is a threat of rain or frost, you should remove the pumpkins in dry room. At a temperature of 10-14 ° C, winter pumpkins are perfectly stored until the new year. Interestingly, the more the pumpkin lies, the tastier it becomes - due to the fact that the starches contained in it pass over the sugars.
No special

Harvest luffa

Elena Chernysheva
Firstly, it is necessary to choose a sufficiently reliable support for it, since by the end of summer the stems and leaves of the vine form a large green mass.

What to do with so many seeds - I don’t know yet. I will exchange for the seeds of others interesting plants ([email protected]).​

We thank the company "Benary" (Germany) for providing photos of decorative pumpkin varieties.​

Interest in exotic plants

krukneka,

Cucurbita
Tangerine is a rounded orange spherical pumpkin with a smooth skin. For example, the variety "Little Orange" ("Kleine Orange") with bright orange fruits up to 8-10 cm in diameter.

"Decorative pumpkins are edible only at an immature young age. Later, when
Most types of large-fruited (late-ripening) pumpkins in central Russia do not have time to fully ripen. Therefore, they are harvested in the fall before the onset of frost slightly unripe, and then ripened indoors - usually 2-3 months. The fact that the pumpkin is fully ripe can be recognized by the dried and lignified stalk.

pumpkin care

www.beautytime.ru

The second condition is that it is better to plant a decorative pumpkin in a sunny place (light partial shade is acceptable). That is, of course, you can plant it near the northern wall of the house, but then you should not count on an abundance of flowers and, even more so, fruits.

Now I'm "fired up" with a new idea: to grow lagenaria to make natural maracas from its fruits (because we play music a little).​

also called

Decorative pumpkin in the role of a creeper

melanosperma)
Warty - similar to it, but not with a smooth, but with a rough tuberculous surface. Variety "Little warty" ("Kleine Warzen") has fruits 10-15 cm in diameter.

The crust will coarsen and the seeds will ripen, there is simply nothing to eat in these berries. "

What does a decorative pumpkin need?

​When cooking pumpkins, be careful when you remove the hard smooth skin - it is very slippery for a knife!

It will not be required - it is enough just to provide a piece of fertile soil in the garden for this vegetable. Each plant needs a space of at least 50 square meters. see

All about pumpkin

What does a decorative pumpkin not like?

Of the annual climbing plants, ornamental pumpkins are indeed one of the most unpretentious. Even a novice gardener can grow them. Their only minus is their absolute non-frost resistance: even with a light frost of -1 degrees, the plant dies. That is why it is recommended to grow decorative pumpkins through seedlings. However, the least time-consuming and easiest way is to sow their seeds directly into the ground in mid-May. If late is expected spring frosts, emerging shoots can be covered plastic bottles or film.

In addition, benincasa, trichosanth and cyclantera are of interest.

I started growing Luffa in the garden for a completely "unromantic" purpose. I wanted to get a natural washcloth from its fruits (my friends and I go to the steam room on Thursdays).

wryneck
​.​

and
Little orange

Decorative pumpkins and children

cut and fry nafig!!!

Now decorative mini-pumpkins are in fashion, with which gardeners are happy to decorate their homesteads. In general, a variety of handicrafts and decorative decorations for the home are made from these pumpkins - after all, mature fruits have a thick and durable rind, the pulp is almost absent. But very young, these pumpkins, in principle, are edible. True, their taste characteristics are significantly inferior to varieties specially bred for human consumption.

Fill the soil with plenty of compost. It is convenient to plant a pumpkin near the partition that encloses the compost heap - and you can save space and provide additional nutrition for the plant. Just don't plant the pumpkin directly on compost heap- it can accumulate nitrates if there is too much nitrogen in the soil.​

​on the site Gardenia.ru​

In addition to frosts, decorative pumpkins really do not like the lack of moisture and poor soils. The more often you water and fertilize it (especially with organic fertilizers), the better it will grow.

About varieties of decorative pumpkin

For sowing in the next garden season, I already have plant seeds: momordica (yellow cucumber), chufa (ground pistachio) and several "exotics" of other species.

I ask you to treat my story about growing luffa ironically, because I am not a gardener. Nevertheless, I managed to get a fruit crop from several luffa seeds, and at the same time observe all the stages of development of this wonderful vine and capture it in a photo.
(Cucurbita pepo var. giraumon
All these pumpkins are exclusively decorative, they are not edible, but they are an excellent material for children's crafts, you can cut lanterns from them, make candlesticks, engage in artistic painting and burning on a pumpkin. They will complement still lifes and floral arrangements, serve as a decorative element in kitchen design.​

Texas pumpkin
Little warty

most likely no Some varieties of ornamental gourds - in which the bark is red in color or has a ribbed or warty surface - cannot be eaten, they taste bitter.

Pumpkin - harvest in large format

Pumpkins love lots of light. Young plants are thermophilic, and the growing season is quite long - so you definitely need to grow seedlings if you want to get a pumpkin crop in your garden.
About your beloved pumpkin, say a word!!!
That's the whole secret!

The fruits are removed in a state of full maturity, with a hardened peel, cut off with a stalk, and dried. Unripe pumpkins with part of the tops are hung for ripening in a dry, ventilated room.

Small bicolor pear	She is tasteless.
It is worth adding, however, that even decorative pumpkins, not to mention ordinary ones, usually have delicious seeds. In general, the seeds of all varieties of winter pumpkin are very useful. Scoop out the seeds from the cut pumpkin with a spoon. They are dried, lightly fried and eaten in their pure form, or as additions to salads and muesli.	Seedlings are sown in early May, and the crop can be harvested, depending on the variety, in 2-5 months.
There are many good varieties and all of them, regardless of size, are very useful! It is a pity that some gardeners ignore it in their plots, citing the fact that the pumpkin occupies a lot of space. But, if it is reasonable to approach the planting of pumpkins, then you can place beds with pumpkins near fences, vertical buildings. A pumpkin is essentially a vine, and it perfectly climbs to the height of the building without occupying a usable area! Do not refuse pumpkin, sow it for your health! Learn a little more about the pumpkin in the post.​	Now let's talk a little about the fruits of the pumpkin, because of which it is, in fact, called decorative. Their size rarely exceeds 10-15 cm, and the shape can be round, star-shaped, bottle-shaped, in the form of a boletus mushroom, etc. There are varieties of pumpkin with both smooth and bumpy skin, the shades of which vary from white to yellow, orange or green. Striped, spotted or two-colored fruits of a decorative pumpkin look the most funny.

pumpkin care

​Yuri Andreevich Kulbaka (Ukraine)​ I bought a bag with five seeds of luffa at the Seeds store. Sometimes they are real twins. ordinary zucchini both in form and taste. And sometimes - bizarre vessels with a swan neck, like the variety "Cou-Tor Heytiv" ("Cou-Tors Hative"). The peel is rough, bubbly, bright golden-orange. The length of the fruit is up to 20 cm. For eating, young fruits are used, 10-15 cm long, which are cooked like zucchini.

There are other types of small pumpkins that are not only decorative, but also edible.

Small bicolor

Try to pickle like cucumbers, I somehow planted a decorative pumpkin and it in twists ....

It makes no sense to leave pumpkin seeds for sowing - this vegetable is pollinated, so anything will grow from its own seed, but not the original species. So it's best to buy the seeds of your favorite pumpkin varieties in the store - especially since they keep well, so you can even buy a few bags "in reserve."

summer pumpkins

Pumpkin - harvest in large format

These small fruits of cheerful colors look very cute on the plant itself, but very often decorative pumpkins are grown in order to collect ripened fruits in the fall, dry them and use them to create original compositions(for example, with dried flowers). In addition, these pumpkins can also be used to create real works of art. To do this, any pattern is applied to dried pumpkins with special paint, and then varnish to fix the paint.

​Gardenia.ru "Floriculture: Pleasure and Benefits"​

At the beginning of May, when garden soil warmed up enough, planted the seeds directly into the ground at a distance of 1 meter from each other.

​Kow-Tor Heytiv​	Large-fruited turban
	Pear-shaped - with smooth pear-shaped fruits 10-12 cm long. The fruits are yellow orange color, but the two-color ones are most effective, as, for example, in the variety "Little two-color pear" ("Klein Birne Bicolor"), which has a clearly defined green part of the fruit, or in the variety "Little two-color" ("Kleine Bicolor"), where the lower part of the fruit green, with white stripes.​

Harvesting pumpkins

Ornamental ones bloom and bear fruit best of all, it’s a pity that according to the stories, no one will eat them in their adult state ... And that would be great - just a couple of bushes and a whole car of pumpkins!​

Series of messages "Melons":

Are ornamental pumpkins edible?

In order for pumpkins to be stored for a long time, two rules must be observed: they must be fully ripe, that is, with a very rough and thick skin, and also plucked before the first autumn frosts.

More than thirty years ago, in my mother-in-law's house, for the first time in my life, I saw this little orange miracle - an apple is not an apple, a zucchini is not a zucchini, a toy is not a toy. To my question about its origin, the mother-in-law simply answered: “This is a karakhonka.” Such a funny folk name did not add clarity, but it warmed up interest. Believe it or not, one of these miniature pumpkins has been in my kitchen ever since. Now it is an almost weightless solid bun, just a shell...

Today, there is a huge number of beautiful, most diverse in shape and color, decorative pumpkins, which I can’t even call the tongue karahonki, but I’m sorry to part with that very first one - tangerine, already pretty faded and nondescript, even today ...

Prose

It would seem, what a prosaic plant - a pumpkin! Probably, there are no people in our country who would not know what a pumpkin is, how it looks and how many useful substances it contains that determine its nutritional, dietary value and medicinal properties. The very word "pumpkin" evokes direct associations, rather, with food, and not at all with beauty! Some decorative pumpkins can also be eaten, but only while they are unripe and their skin is soft. After removing the core, they can be stuffed with meat, vegetables, stewed in sour cream.

When mature, they are already inedible, have a hard rind and most often bitter flesh.

However, even at a young age, decorative pumpkins are much inferior in taste to their closest relatives from the pumpkin family - zucchini, zucchini, squash and real large sweet pumpkins.

Immeasurably more fun decorative pumpkin will deliver to you if you create in your yard a spectacular living decoration with large funnel-shaped flowers, which, closer to autumn, will be decorated with fruits of the most unimaginable shapes and colors.

diminutiveness decorative pumpkin

Pumpkin is perhaps the only plant in the world whose fruit weight can vary widely - from 30 g to 300 kg. But if earlier people were more often surprised by the huge size of the pumpkin, then it seems that the day is not far off when rivalry will unfold between pumpkins in several categories - miniature size, riot of colors and unpredictability of forms.

The fruits of specially bred decorative pumpkin varieties can decorate not only the garden, but also the interior of a city apartment, become an addition to a flower arrangement or a real work of art. In the shade of pumpkin plantings, the coolness keeps well, and bright yellow flowers adorn the green carpet of leaves until late autumn. Well, but pumpkins do not grow so luxuriantly in spacious tubs indoors - on verandas and terraces. All that is needed is illumination and constant feeding.

funny pumpkins

decorative pumpkin(Cucurbita pepo var. ovifera) is an annual climbing plant. Its other name is ordinary figured pumpkin. Stems climbing, from 2 to 6 m in length, with many side shoots. Large rounded or heart-shaped leaves are five-lobed, wrinkled, with prickly hairs, on long hollow petioles. In the axils of the leaves there are tendrils with which the stem of the plant can cling to the support and rise up. Pumpkins have solitary yellow unisexual flowers, sometimes very large.

The most interesting thing about a decorative pumpkin is the fruits.

They are much smaller than pumpkin fruits used for food - their diameter or height rarely exceeds 10-15 cm, and the shape and color of the fruits are surprisingly diverse and decorative.

An unusually interesting form decorative pumpkin: spherical, disc-shaped, turban-shaped, club-shaped, pear-shaped, star-shaped, bottle-shaped, bell-shaped, etc. The surface of decorative gourds can be smooth and tuberculate, sometimes with outgrowths-horns that protrude along the edges of the fruit and resemble a crown or tentacles of a starfish, shades it varies from white to yellow, orange or green.

Striped, spotted, two-colored fruits in the form of a boletus mushroom or looking like a gnome's head in a red cap on one side look very funny.

Beautifully colored, bright, exotic pumpkins hang on plants until frost, pleasing to the eye: orange (tangerine) - bright yellow and orange balls; warty - yellow with an uneven, bumpy surface; brindle - yellowish-beige with a pattern; watermelon - green with light stripes; pear-shaped - yellow, shaped like a pear; crowned - an unusual exquisite shape with horns-protrusions above each slice, etc.

Interesting decorative pumpkin chalmoid.

The shape of the fruit of this decorative gourd resembles a turban, which is why it is sometimes called Turkish.

However, this pumpkin came to us not from Turkey, but from Western China. The turban-shaped decorative pumpkin has several varieties: large turban, medium turban, small turban and small-fruited red. On the same plant of a turban-shaped pumpkin, there are almost never two identical fruits, they always differ in color tone, variety of shades and patterns - stripes, strokes, spots. In a small-fruited red ornamental pumpkin, the pulp may have a bitter taste, but in large- and small-chalm ones it is always sweet, yellow-orange, with a high content of carotene. These pumpkins are quite suitable for eating, you can cook jam, candied fruits from them, the pulp does not boil soft, the slices are transparent, beautiful amber color. Seeds are delicious too.

The more sun, the brighter the colors decorative pumpkin

Fruit size and quality depends on growing conditions decorative pumpkin. The culture prefers loose, light, fertile calcareous soils, sandy loam, sandy or loamy chernozems. Decorative pumpkin does not like acidic soils, but salinity can withstand. Ornamental pumpkins should be planted in well-warmed areas protected from cold winds.

A big minus of decorative pumpkins is the lack of frost resistance.

young plants decorative pumpkin are sensitive even to small spring frosts and die already at a temperature of -1 ° C. That is why ornamental pumpkins are often grown as seedlings.

In addition to frosts, ornamental pumpkins cannot tolerate poor soils and lack of moisture. Therefore, special attention in the care of decorative pumpkins should be given to fertilizer and watering. The more often you water and fertilize the pumpkin, especially with organic fertilizers, the better it will grow. And if the pumpkin is given foliar dressing with urea or complex fertilizer with a predominance of nitrogen, then it will grow by leaps and bounds.

Decorative pumpkins are photophilous, it is better to plant them in a sunny place, but light partial shade is also acceptable.

In the shade, the plants do not bloom well, the ripening and coloring of the fruits slows down, the colors turn out to be dull. How more sun, the brighter and more beautiful the coloring of the fruit will be. Of course, you can plant a decorative pumpkin near the northern wall of the house, but then you should not count on an abundance of flowers and, even more so, fruits.

The place for decorative pumpkin

When choosing a place for growing a decorative pumpkin, it should be taken into account that it needs a fairly reliable support, since by the end of summer the stems and leaves of the vine form a large green mass. Pumpkin reaches its maximum decorative effect by the middle of summer. In July-August, she completely curls the support provided to her, creating a solid green screen, decorated with large bright yellow flowers and small fruitlets.

For a decorative pumpkin, everything vertical is suitable as a support in the garden that you want to hide from prying eyes or decorate with something - a fence, a wall of some outbuilding, a gazebo, a pergola or an arch.

Our advice:

Suitable for support even an old dried tree.

With the help of its antennae, this vine is able to climb to great heights, but as the shoots grow, for greater reliability, they must be tied up.
The decorative pumpkin looks especially good in gardens decorated in a rustic style that is fashionable today, where garden and flower bed plants easily coexist. It can even be used as an original border, laying out long shoots along paths, flower beds, flower beds.

Planting a decorative pumpkin

Of the climbing annuals, the decorative pumpkin is not only quite original, but also very unpretentious in cultivation. It propagates by seeds. grow up decorative pumpkin seedling way and sowing in the ground. The soil has been prepared since autumn - rotted manure (5 kg / m 2), mineral fertilizers such as azophoska (40 g / m 2) are applied and dug up to a depth of 25-30 cm.

Seeds for seedlings are sown from April 25 to May 5 in cups or peat pots with a diameter of 10-15 cm, filled with a light nutrient mixture.

To speed up germination, the seeds are soaked for 24 hours in a solution of any growth stimulator and sown immediately. The best germination of pumpkin seeds after 3-5 years of storage, fresh seeds are often not viable. In open ground, seeds are sown in the second decade of May, when the air temperature reaches 15-18 ° C, and the soil warms up to 12 ° C. Close them up to a depth of 7-8 cm. For normal germination of pumpkin seeds, a temperature of at least 12-14 ° C is needed.

When growing decorative pumpkins in seedlings, seedlings are planted on permanent place in June, when the threat of frost has passed.

decorative pumpkin it does not tolerate transplanting very well, so transshipment from plastic cups must be done very carefully so as not to disturb the root system. Holes are made for a pumpkin at a distance of 70-80 cm, a depth of 15-20 cm, they are filled with fertile soil, a handful of complete mineral fertilizer is added. Seedlings at the age of 25-30 days are planted deeper than they sat in a pot, sprinkled with earth to the cotyledon leaves, so that root neck was a few centimeters below ground level.

Later, when root tubercles appear at the base of the stem, soil is added to it.

If late spring frosts are expected, seedlings are covered with plastic bottles or film. Pumpkins bloom in June, and from about mid-July the formation of the first fruits already begins and lasts until the end of autumn.

Ornamental pumpkin care

Having a large leaf surface, the culture evaporates a lot of moisture and needs infrequent but plentiful watering.

Water the decorative pumpkin with warm water.

If the plants do not grow well during the summer, the soil is carefully loosened, mulched with peat or humus. Consuming a large amount of nutrients from the soil, the plant is extremely responsive to fertilization. A week after planting or three after germination, the plants need to be fed with complex fertilizer (1 tablespoon of azofoska under a bush) and then thoroughly watered.

In the northern regions, in order to accelerate the ripening of fruits, a month before the onset of frost, the lashes are pinched.

Pumpkin is harvested in dry weather, usually in September - October before the onset of frost, in the south after the leaves die. When harvesting, it is necessary to preserve the stalk and prevent damage to the fruit. Optimum temperature pumpkin storage 16-18 °C. In no case should pumpkins be stored in damp basements - they will rot.

Successors of the genus decorative pumpkin

A few years ago, in stores you could only find mixtures of different varieties of decorative pumpkins Mosaic and Starfall. Naturally, very diverse fruits grow from such mixtures, which only fuels the excitement. Especially if these are varieties of decorative pumpkins such as warty, pear-shaped or tangerine.

The warty pumpkin is called because the surface of its fruits is strewn with small tubercles.

At the tangerine decorative pumpkins- orange fruits the size of a tangerine. The pear fruit naturally resembles a pear and is often half orange, half green.

Today there are already selected hybrids of ornamental gourd - bright orange Turkish turban, multi-colored Stars and Baby creamy white, Starfish, Two-color ball, Orange ball and Warty mixture. Funny mini-pumpkins are very popular (Jack-be-little, Baby Boo and Sweet Dumpling), which are used exclusively as a decorative element. Jack-be-little fruit yellow color, when ripe, orange, round, segmented, just like the carriage pumpkin in the fairy tale "Cinderella", only in miniature, in Baby Boo - pumpkins are pure white, round, segmented, with soft pulp, very reminiscent of a large head of garlic, and in Sweet Dumpling fruits are pudding-shaped, with alternating longitudinal white and green stripes.

If you manage to purchase the seeds of these hybrids, do not flatter yourself.

Seeds selected from fruits do not always repeat parental traits. So, from the seeds of a round yellow pumpkin, you can get a long, two-color or pimply. Most often, it is impossible to predict in advance what color the fruits of these plants will turn out to be: green, red, orange, yellow or striped. Plants are cross-pollinated, so the neighborhood with other pumpkin relatives affects the offspring. For example, the varieties Gribovskaya bush, Almond, Mozoleevskaya, gymnosperms and small decorative toy pumpkins belong to the same species, and when grown in the same garden, they are easily cross-pollinated. From the seeds of such pollinated plants, something unpredictable can grow. Some of the ornamental gourds taste bitter, a quality they can pass on to hybrids.

Our advice:

Ready to blossom buds of male flowers (with stamens) and female (with an ovary under the flower), cover in the evening with a gauze insulator, and in the morning transfer the pollen from male flower on the stigma of the female and isolate it again until the flower dries up and the ovary grows. Mark this fruit so you don't confuse it with others, and keep an eye on it when it's ripe.

Keep the cut fruit for another month in a warm room, but not for very long: the seeds in the overripe fruit can germinate inside it. Then remove the seeds from the fruit, dry and store in a warm room. They remain viable for about seven years.

Olga KORABLEVA,
Candidate of Agricultural Sciences
© "Ogorodnik"
A photo pixabay.com

Do you want to decorate the area? This task is excellent not only flowering plants. A great alternative is a decorative pumpkin. This is a climbing plant with beautiful greenery, among which original pumpkins will appear in autumn. In the photo you can see how diverse the fruits of different varieties are. You can choose several options that will successfully complement each other, or you can stop at the variety you like the most.

Benefits of Ornamental Pumpkins

This unusual plant has a number of important advantages:

• It is beautiful. Many will like powerful stems with large juicy leaves, decorated with bright flowers and unusual bright fruits of different "complexity". Such a non-standard decor will immediately attract the attention of others.
• Growing fast. Each curly lash quickly grows up to 4-6 meters. It is recommended to run them on supports, because the plant will perfectly cope with landscaping, decorating arbors and other objects.

• There is a bush form. It is recommended to plant it in flowerpots and put it on the terraces.
• It will attract the attention of not only adults, but also children. This is a find for a children's garden.
• The plant is unpretentious in care. The main thing is to ensure regular watering.
• Lovely beautiful pumpkins are perfect for crafts, design. The main thing is to wait until they ripen, clean the seeds, and dry them. From such specimens, you can create many useful and beautiful curiosities - candlesticks, caskets, compositions. It is difficult to find two identical berries. Each has an original color and "figure".

Appearance and popular varieties of decorative pumpkin

Most often, a mixture of varieties is offered for sale (“Artistka”, “Rattle”, “Souvenir”). The fruits are very varied. They differ in bright color, shape (from star-shaped to pear-shaped). Some mixtures offer plants with similarly shaped fruits.

Popular types of decorative pumpkins:

• "Orange". Pumpkins are small, reminiscent of appearance and color orange. Very effective.
• Baby Boo. The vegetables are white, slightly ribbed, their diameter is about 10 cm. The bark is smooth.

• Sweet Dumpling. Small, flat-round, have dark green stripes with white dots between yellow ribs.
• "Crown". Surprise with unusual star-shaped berries. Their size is up to 15 cm. The colors are very different - from yellow to bright green.

• "Turkish turban". In appearance, it really resembles a turban. Orange color. Differs in the sweet juicy pulp suitable for the use in food.

• Kleine Bicolor. Fruits in the form of a pear attract attention not only in shape, but also in a contrasting color. It is dark green below and bright yellow above.

We have listed the names of the most popular varieties, but this is not the whole list.

Growing Secrets

Growing a decorative pumpkin requires certain skills. To grow a plant, it is better to plant it in the sun, cover it from the wind. Constant care and supervision is essential.

Temperature

Let's take a closer look at how to care for this curiosity. young plant should be protected from frequent spring frosts, they are not resistant to frost. Even a temperature of -1 ° C will be fatal. Seedlings can be planted immediately. Remember that it is the conditions under which pumpkin grows that directly affect the quality of the berry, the splendor of greenery.

The soil

Acidic soil is not suitable, it can withstand saline soil. It is best to plant vegetables in light ground, loose, calcareous. It is highly fertile. Well, if it is black soil with part of the sand, clay.

Watering, fertilizer

This representative of the flora should be watered frequently, fed (organic fertilizers). You can pamper the pumpkin foliar top dressing. You can use urea for this.

Place to land

Especially carefully you need to choose a place. It is better to plant away from the cold wind. It will take a lot of sun, protection from the wind. To hold powerful stems with large leaves, put a reliable support.

Secrets of a Successful Landing

From the correct planting of a decorative pumpkin, what fruits will appear directly depends. How to plant a decorative pumpkin?

Growing seedlings

1. The plant propagates by seeds, but it is better to plant seedlings immediately. In autumn, you can prepare the soil. It is fertilized with manure (5 kg / m2), mineral fertilizers (azofoska at the rate of (40 g / m2). The soil is dug up to a depth of 30 cm.
2. Seeds need to be sown in cups, peat pots in the period April 25-May 5. Diameter - 10-15 cm. They are filled with a light soil mixture. Seed germination can be accelerated. To do this, they should be soaked for a day in any stimulant. How to prepare the solution is indicated on the package. Then the seeds are immediately sown. It is better to choose not freshly harvested seeds, but those that have been stored for 3-5 years.

Landing in the ground

It is better to sow seeds in the ground in the second decade of May, when the air temperature rises to 15-18 degrees. Sowing depth - 7-8 cm.

When planting seedlings, seedlings are planted in June. It should be handled very carefully, the plant does not tolerate this process well. The depth of the holes is 15-20 cm, the distance between them is up to 80 cm. The earth must be sprinkled so that the root neck is below ground level. Therefore, characteristic measles tubercles will appear at the base, which must be sprinkled with earth.

Using a decorative gourd

Despite the fact that pumpkins are primarily used to decorate the garden, they can be eaten, candied fruit, and jam can be made. For this, only young fruits should be used. In old berries, the flesh is bitter, it becomes hard.

But it is better to use these unusual beautiful fruits for decor. From them you can make an outlandish lantern, a vase, a box, a whole composition. This is a real find for parents of kids.

So, if you decide to grow a decorative pumpkin, you should consider simple recommendations. Then a real decoration will appear on your site. Ornamental pumpkins grow quickly. All summer you can enjoy lush greenery, and in autumn you can harvest amazing fruits. Why not start making this wonderful vegetable in winter ?!

Video: How to grow a decorative pumpkin