Cucumbers are popular for their versatility, nutritional value, and refreshing taste. Although many of us know cucumbers as the long, green vegetables often found in salads, there’s a wide range of bush cucumber varieties available.
Bush and vine cucumbers are the two main types, and within these categories, there’s more diversity than you might think. Vine cucumbers are often grown on trellises or fences, while bush cucumbers are more compact and can be grown in pots or small spaces.
Bush cucumber varieties
If you’re thinking of growing bush cucumbers, understanding the different varieties can help you choose the best one for your needs. Here’s a list of some of the best bush cucumber varieties and where they grow best.
1) Salad Bush
The salad bush cucumber is a small, round variety of cucumber that’s ideal for growing in pots or small spaces. These cucumbers are crisp and have a mild flavor, making them perfect for salads or snacks.
The plant is easy to grow and does not require much space, making it a popular choice for home gardens. Their crisp, juicy flesh can be either pickled, raw, garnished, or cooked.
Additionally, they have a high-disease resistance, which means that you’ll get higher chances of harvesting high-quality cucumbers and a longer growing season.
Salad bush cucumber plants are best grown in full sun and well-draining soil. They’re also a good choice for gardeners in USDA hardiness zones 11-12.
2) Bush Pickle
You may also commonly know this as the gherkins, and it’s a small cucumber that is often used for – well, pickling!
This variety of bush cucumber grows well in hot weather and is tolerant to drought conditions. The plant produces an abundance of fruit, making it a good choice for those looking to make pickles or other preserved foods.
Growing approximately 24 inches in diameter, the bush pickle cucumber is best suited for home gardens or small spaces.
This variety of cucumber prefers full sun but can also tolerate partial shade. They’re a good choice for gardeners in USDA hardiness zones 11-12. Because they don’t tolerate cold well, it’s best to start them indoors and then transplant them outdoors after the last frost date.
3) Bush Champion
The Bush Champion Cucumber is a high-yielding, disease-resistant variety that produces small to medium-sized cucumbers. Averaging 11 inches long, these cucumbers are crisp, juicy, and have a mild flavor.
This plant is easy to grow and can be resistant to some common cucumber diseases, such as powdery mildew. Like any other bush varieties, these cucumber plants only take 1/3 the space of a traditional cucumber plant.
For a thriving bush champion cucumber plant, it needs at least 6 hours of sunlight per day. A little shade can be tolerated during the hottest part of the day, but too much shade will result in fewer cucumbers.
Similar to the first two varieties mentioned above, these cucumbers grow well is USDA zones 11-12.
4) Spacemaster
The Spacemaster Cucumber is a hybrid bush prized for its disease resistance and tolerance to heat. These cucumbers can grow up to 12 inches long and have a mildy sweet flavor. Because of their size and flavor, they’re often used in salads or as a garnish.
More tolerant to cold than other cucumber varieties, Spacemaster cucumber plants thrive and grows well in USDA zones 5-9. Its ideal growing conditions are full sun and moist, well-drained soil.
Although these cucumbers relatively don’t have problems with pests and diseases, aphids can be a problem for young cucumber plants. This can be easily remedied by using a natural insecticide such as neem oil.
Spacemaster is doted as the ultimate space-saving cucumber plant as these can be grown in hanging containers or pots. They can also be trained to grow vertically on a trellis or fence.
5) Pick a Bushel
Although this particular cucumber variety is a semi-bush, it’s still classified as a bush cucumber. The Pick a Bushel Cucumber has a light green skin. When the fruits have reached 6 inches long, they’re ready to be harvested.
Adding compost to the soil before planting will give these cucumbers the nutrients they need to grow. It’s important to keep the soil moist but not waterlogged as this can cause the cucumber plants to rot.
With a shorter harvesting time of 50 days, these cucumber plants are perfect for those who want to enjoy cucumbers earlier in the season. With the ability to withstand heat and cold, these cucumbers can be grown in USDA hardiness zones of anywhere from 3 to 10.
Final Thoughts
One of the main advantages of growing bush cucumbers is that they don’t require much space. If you’re living in the city, or are limited to a small patio or balcony, bush cucumbers are the way to go.
Another great thing about bush cucumbers is that these plants don’t require much care. Sufficient watering and occasional fertilizing is all that’s needed, in addition to ensuring that you harvest them at the right time. Harvesting too late will result in cucumbers that are tough and not as flavorful.