Cantaloupe is an annual grown for its fruit, ready to harvest about 80 days after planting. It's hardy across USDA zones 3 through 11. Its summer flowers are a moderate draw for honeybees and native bees, even though the fruit is the prize. As a cucurbit (squash, melon, and cucumber), give it a fresh bed each year — away from where its relatives just grew — so the soil-borne pests and diseases of the family never get a foothold.
Cantaloupe — the short answer
Cantaloupe: grown in zones 3–11, full sun, pH 5–8.7, about 80 days to maturity.
- USDA zones
- 3–11
- Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
- Soil pH
- 5–8.7
- FAO ECOCROP
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Days to Maturity
- 80 days
- OSU-PNW; UMass-Veg
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
Score Cantaloupe on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether cantaloupe actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score cantaloupe against your land's real conditions.
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What pests threaten cantaloupe?
Squash bug is documented across the country and will find cantaloupe, but it is manageable here. What an experienced grower watches for, and does:
Squash bug
Worth watchingSquash bugs will feed on any cucurbit — the University of Illinois says all members of the family — but they prefer squash and pumpkins, so a cucumber or melon planting is usually the second thing they find, not the first.
What to do: Let the squash rows do the scouting: check them first, and when egg clusters show up there, start checking leaf undersides here too. Crush eggs on sight and keep debris cleared.
Documented range: the United States · University of Illinois IPM, University of Minnesota Extension
Only pests whose documented range and host relationship both trace to a primary source appear here — so a quiet section means we have nothing sourced to tell you, not that your garden is pest-free.
What Cantaloupe is
Cantaloupe grows as an annual and reaches around a foot and a half at maturity. It blooms yellow in summer.
How to grow Cantaloupe
Cantaloupe grows in USDA zones 3 through 11 and is ready to harvest about 80 days after planting. Cantaloupe does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5 to 8.7, on well-drained ground. It needs around 2,300 growing degree days to mature and a growing season of at least 50 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
3-11
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
5 - 8.7
FAO ECOCROP
Sun
Full Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Minimum Growing Temperature
48.2°F
Below this it stops growing rather than dies — a pace limit, not a survival limit.
FAO ECOCROP
Days to Maturity
80 days
Cantaloupe / muskmelon.
OSU-PNW; UMass-Veg
GDD Required
2300+
Growing degree-days of accumulated warmth it needs to mature — humid summers reach this faster than cool coastal ones.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
1.5 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
50+
The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant cantaloupe in full sun with at least 6 hours of direct sun, once the soil has warmed and frost risk has passed.
Match the soil
Cantaloupe prefers pH 5 to 8.7 (FAO ECOCROP). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Harvest at maturity
Cantaloupe is ready about 80 days after planting (OSU-PNW; UMass-Veg). Pick when the fruit is full-colored and parts easily from the stem.
Where Cantaloupe thrives
On hardiness alone, cantaloupe grows across most of the country — its range (USDA zones 3 through 11) is unusually wide. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 3–11 spans average winter lows from -40°F to 50°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 48 outright and splits 3 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 3–11·Where Cantaloupe growsOpen map →
Where Cantaloupe stands, state by state
Cantaloupe is rated for zones 3–11 — a cold floor USDA puts at -40 to -30°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 48 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 3 more, and 0 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 3–11
48 states
3 of 48 shown
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Cantaloupe
Growing guides for cantaloupe
In rotation planning, cantaloupe counts as a Cucurbit — beds recover best when cucurbit crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Related plants in vegetable
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — cantaloupe isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Cantaloupe offers moderate value to bees and other pollinators. (Source: Pollinator Partnership.)
Before you harvest cantaloupe, know your soil
Anything you grow to eat takes up what's in the ground it grows in, so it's worth knowing what's documented near you before you plant cantaloupe for food. Our free screen reads 9 federal source types across roughly 1.8M indexed sites and shows which sit near your address and which way they drain. It's a screening estimate from public records and proximity — not a soil test — so a nearby record means a soil test is worth it, not that your soil is unsafe.
Your land is one point inside Cantaloupe's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Cantaloupe will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether cantaloupe actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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How we know this about Cantaloupe
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•USDA PHZM•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Cantaloupe in my zone?
Cantaloupe grows in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 11 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
How long does Cantaloupe take to grow?
Cantaloupe is ready to harvest about 80 days after planting (OSU-PNW; UMass-Veg). Your local frost dates and soil temperature move that window earlier or later.
When should you plant Cantaloupe?
Most growers plant cantaloupe after the last spring frost, once the soil has warmed, leaving enough of the season for its 50-day frost-free need. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Cantaloupe need?
Cantaloupe needs full sun — a spot that catches at least 6 hours of direct summer sun a day. In more shade it still grows, but usually gives a smaller, later crop. The catch is that a yard rarely gets even light everywhere — a fence, the house, or one tall tree can quietly take those hours. A Growable Ground report reads the real sun-hours across your land, canopy and buildings included, so you can pick the brightest bed before you plant.
What soil does Cantaloupe need?
Cantaloupe prefers soil pH 5 to 8.7, on well-drained ground (FAO ECOCROP). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Cantaloupe attract pollinators?
Yes — cantaloupe's flowers are a solid nectar source for honeybees and native bees. (Source: Pollinator Partnership.)
Is Cantaloupe safe for pets?
Cantaloupe is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)