How Long Do Watermelons Take to Produce Fruit?

Growing watermelons is a labor of love as we long tend to sprawling vines and await the hefty crop. The homegrown crunch and sweet, juicy taste of summer make the effort well worth it. That the garden birthed such a colossal edible beauty is a marvel.

Watermelons range from three pounds to fifty or more. The lengthy vines take up, on average, 18 to 24 square feet per plant, but can grow much longer. These characteristics depend on the variety. Fortunately, for those of us without the growing space or intention to nurture such giants, we can opt for more compact vines that produce a number of smaller fruits. The minis are cute and just as sweet and juicy as their iconic cousins and bring plenty of delight to a summer afternoon.

How long watermelons take to fruit is variety-dependent, too. The range falls between 60 and 100 days. That’s two months (on the very early-maturing side) to three months of soaking up summer’s sun and warmth.

Watermelon Basics

Watermelons, Citrullus lanatus, are native to North Africa and have a long history of cultivation. From Ancient Egypt to China to the Americas, they’ve been utilized for their water content and sweetness for thousands of years. Innovations continue today, from heirlooms to seedless to mini varieties. They belong to the Cucurbitaceae family, with cucumbers, squash, and other melons.

Watermelons rely on full sun, with six or more hours of sunlight daily. They need warm temperatures with nights above 65°F (18°C), and for the best growth, 75-85°F (24-29°C) is ideal. Well-drained, sandy loams provide the best foundation, with a neutral to slightly acidic pH. Consistently moist soils avoid fluctuations that cause stress and fruit damage.

Aim for one to two inches of water per week (rainfall and irrigation), or when the top two inches of soil are dry. Cucurbits share and transfer the same pests and diseases, so it’s best to separate them from others in the family when practical.

Days to Maturity

Though watermelons have vigorous vines, fruiting is in for the long haul. The best indicator of how long a watermelon takes from seedling to ready fruit is the “days to maturity.” The seed packet or varietal information for each watermelon indicates its days to maturity (DTM). The DTM is a time frame of how long the melon would take under optimal growing conditions.

The DTM estimate is a helpful guide in variety selection, making sure your growing season can accommodate early or later melons. DTM also helps gauge peak ripeness and a timeframe for when to start checking.

While watermelons usually mature in 65 to 100 days, it depends on the selection, climate factors, and growing situations. DTM isn’t precise when it comes to fluid natural conditions.

Flowers to Fruits

July is National Watermelon Month in the U.S., with prime harvest time for many gardeners being July and August. The season lasts as long as warm weather holds, as the vines slow in cool weather and are frost sensitive.

Watermelons begin to set fruit when insects pollinate their flowers. The vines produce both male and female flowers and need pollen grains transferred from a male to a female bloom for successful fruiting. They rely solely on insects, primarily bees, for pollination.

Look for watermelons to take about 35 to 45 days after flowering/pollination to produce fruit. While development is around the same time, the ripening time on the same plant varies based on when the bees visit the male and female flowers. Check regularly when fruits near the days out from planting for optimum ripeness.

A single specimen usually yields two to four watermelons (two for large varieties, more for smaller). This varies depending on the variety and factors like climate and growing conditions. Pinching the tip of the main vine when plants are one foot long encourages side shoots for more fruits.

Vine Type and Selection

There are different types of watermelons, including standard, icebox, seedless, bush, and early maturing. Standards are the classic oblong beauties that take both arms to carry. Icebox is small enough to fit in the fridge, and the first small selections that brought farmers cooling relief on their field breaks.

Seedless varieties are newer cultivars for easy eating, and bush varieties are smaller with a non-vining habit. Early maturing types reach peak flavor and texture in fewer days.

Small Spaces and Short Growing Seasons

For a big yield in small spaces or in areas with short growing seasons, opt for compact varieties. Shorter, manageable vines that produce smaller rounds often mature more quickly than their bigger counterparts. Productive dwarf varieties yield a number of small melons as opposed to two or so behemoth ones.

You can opt to save space and time by growing vertically and selecting varieties that grow in pots. Growing vertically brings health benefits, like increased air circulation, to help prevent fungal problems and boost yields.

Grow Vertically 

With compact vining varieties or bush types, trellises and tripods are simple ways to grow the vines vertically. Vertical growth provides a number of benefits, from conserving valuable growing space to reducing damp conditions to making pest scouting easy. Install the support structure at planting, and tie the vines as they grow (every four to six inches or so).

Use sturdy materials like a heavy-duty tomato trellis. Tripods are simple structures with strong, tall posts tied or secured at the pinnacle. Train stems to grow up the three arms of the structure and on lateral supports between the poles. 

Stems aren’t strong enough to hold the heavy fruits in suspension. Create a cradle for the melons when they reach a few inches. Use a purchase fruit net or strips of cloth, twine slings, or pantyhose to slip around the melon. Flexible and airy, they expand as the melon grows.

Growing vertically brings high visual interest as the fruits develop on the vine. It also results in uniform shaping and no ground patch among the skins.

In Pots and Containers

If you don’t have bed space for the lengthy vining cucurbits, consider growing dwarf varieties in pots and containers. A five-gallon pot or converted bucket works well for a single plant. If you plan to grow more than one or want to pair them with companions, go larger. A 10-gallon container or more houses planting combinations.

Good drainage and a high-quality potting mix to establish the best foundation. Organic formulas tailored to containers are light and well-draining, sterile, and with nutrients to foster growth. Topdress with a mulch layer to boost moisture retention and regulate soil temperatures. Keep the mulch off the stems to prevent disease and pest issues.

Direct sow seeds or transplant seedlings or nursery starts into the pot as the weather warms.

Boost Pollination

To ensure pollination early on so vines begin producing, grow flowering plants in the vicinity. Melons rely on bees for pollination, with repeat visits necessary to transfer enough pollen to the female flower. In times when bee activity is low, fruiting lessens or quality decreases. Even seedless varieties need insect pollination to produce fruit. Female flowers last only a single day and are most receptive before the afternoon heat, so capturing visits at the right time is essential.

Rainy, cool weather, urban sites, balcony setups, greenhouses, or a general lack of local bee presence impact their ability to pollinate the blooms. Bees squeeze into the yellow tubular blooms to collect nectar and pollen, capturing it on their fuzzy bodies. They distribute the large, sticky granules as they travel from flower to flower.

Nectar-rich flowering herbs, perennials, and annuals attract bees and other flying pollinators, who, in turn, visit the melon blossoms. Diverse blooms and companion plants also draw beneficial predators to manage pest populations.

To ensure success, you can also opt for hand-pollination. Use a Q-tip or soft paintbrush to transfer pollen from male to female flowers. Male flowers have stamens, while females have a stigma in their center and a small, undeveloped melon at their base. You can also pick a male bloom and brush it across the female for pollen transfer. Catch the female blossoms in the morning for the best receptivity.

Pick at Peak Ripeness

With the days to maturity behind us, it’s finally time to savor the bounty. There’s a harvesting sweet spot for maximum flavor and texture, and while some fruits continue to ripen after picking, watermelons ripen on the vine. They won’t continue to develop flavor or more sugars post-harvest. When to harvest depends on a few key characteristics: color, stem qualities, and a “thump” factor.

Look for the color of the “ground spot,” the belly or underside where the melon touches the soil, to transition from greenish-white to yellow or creamy white. The watermelon’s shiny skin may also lose its luster when ripe.

Ripe watermelons have a brown, withered tendril or “pigtail” stem near the main vine. This browning shows that the fruit is mature and its stem is no longer twining or clinging. The caveat is that some varieties present brown tendrils before they’re fully ready. The stems may brown seven to ten days before maturity. These include ‘Crimson Sweet’ and ‘Sugar Baby,’ among others. 

The last assessment for peak ripeness relates to feel. The melon should be weighty and may plump at the blossom end. The thick skin will be firm and resist a fingernail poke. When tapped, it should make a “thump” noise, hollow and dull. 

Early Varieties

There are over 300 watermelon varieties, from standards to minis, heirloom to modern. Early maturing varieties bring solutions for small spaces, cold climates with short growing seasons, or simply to enhance the edible landscape while realizing the sweet, juicy flavor sooner.

‘Golden Midget’

	botanical name Citrullus lanatus ‘Golden Midget’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 3-4’ vines

‘Golden Midget’ adds high visual interest to the vine and the plate. With smooth, shiny, pale yellow skin and salmon-pink flesh, the small globes are showy. They’re also juicy and mildly sweet with hints of pineapple and honey.

The petite melons weigh just three pounds and are early to develop, ready to harvest in about 70 days. The productive, compact 1959 variety from the University of New Hampshire is versatile across garden scales and also in climates with short warm seasons.

‘Sugar Baby’

	botanical name Citrullus lanatus ‘Sugar Baby’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 6-10’ vines

Smaller than the classic oblong watermelon, ‘Sugar Baby’ packs all the sweet and juicy flavor in a portable form. The rounds have firm, mottled dark green skin and deep red flesh. Each weighs six to ten pounds. 

Woodside Seed Growing Company of Rocky Ford, Colorado, introduced ‘Sugar Baby’ in its 1958 seed catalog. ‘Sugar Baby’ is an improved icebox variety, perfect for storing in the fridge.

In addition to its sweet flavor, ‘Sugar Baby’ is an early maturing melon, ready about 80 days after sowing.

‘Mini Love’

	botanical name Citrullus lanatus ‘Mini Love’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 3-4’ vines

‘Mini Love’ is an All-America Selections Award Winner for its manageable, productive vines and sultry, flavorful fruits. A singular plant produces up to six of the crack-resistant and split-resistant fruits. Rinds are firm but thin with a full, fleshy interior that’s juicy and crisp. A high sugar content and bright red flesh bring all the melon goodness.

Melons weigh five to seven pounds and have few seeds for easy enjoyment. ‘Mini Love’ holds well on the vine and stores post-harvest.

Standard Favorites

Practice makes perfect for classically large, beautiful watermelons. These standard-maturing varieties are ready on the longer end of the days to maturity spectrum and bring enviable results to the summer picnic.

‘Charleston Gray’

	botanical name Citrullus lanatus ‘Charleston Gray’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 6-10’ vines

sara‘Charleston Gray’ is a favorite heirloom from the 1950s USDA agricultural station in Charleston, South Carolina. Renowned breeder Charles Andrus developed ‘Charleston Gray’ to be the first variety to resist the common problems of Fusarium wilt and anthracnose.

The melons have a natural sunscreen in the form of powdery gray-green skins to protect them from the intense southern exposure. The heavy oblongs weigh 25 to 35 pounds and grow about 25 inches long.

Vines yield one to two of the large fruits. Their flavor is sweet and crisp, and the flesh is bright red.

‘Crimson Sweet’

	botanical name Citrullus lanatus ‘Crimson Sweet’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 6-10’ vines

‘Crimson Sweet’ is beloved for its supreme sweetness, rich red flesh, and pretty skins with green striping. Crisp, sugary flesh reflects the summer ideal.

The heirloom produces 20 to 25-pound fruits in about 85 days. The round fruits reach 12 inches long and 10 inches across. The hearty vines resist Fusarium wilt and anthracnose for easier growth and production.