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Cantaloupe
Habit (mature) · Dinesh Valke / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Limited coverage
Cantaloupe
Cucumis melo
A warm-season annual vine in the cucumber family grown for its sweet, aromatic netted melons — one of the six broadly accepted edible groups of the polymorphic Cucumis melo. Stiff-haired, rough-textured trailing stems climb 6-9 feet with the help of unbranched tendrils, carrying funnel-shaped yellow flowers that draw bees. Native to the Old World (Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, India, New Guinea, and Australia) and intolerant of frost, it is grown as an annual on the ground or on cages and trellises.
Review: Source-backed
Climate fit: moderate (56/100)
Edible
Pollinator
Light
Full sun
Water
Moderate water
Mature size
72-108" tall · 24" apart
Hardy in zones
2-11
brutally cold to nearly frost-free winters
Summer heat range
Warm-Hot
warm to hot summers Interim Plotwright tier until the plant AHS range is authored.
Native in Illinois
No
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Cold hardiness
Now
Zone 6b
USDA
Chicago, IL · 1991-2020 average annual coldest day
Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer
Well-suited
2050
Zone 7b
Plotwright
Your zone + climate-model shift · SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry)
Well-suited
In plain terms: cold winters — coldest nights typically around -3°F.
✓
Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.
Heat tolerance
Loading current AHS heat-zone and plant heat-fit data at your coordinates…
Where this plant fits
Suitable across 45 ecoregions — 45 climate-resilient through 2070. Best matches first.
Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests
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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests
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Arizona Mountains forests
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Atlantic coastal pine barrens
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Blue Mountains forests
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California coastal sage and chaparral
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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands
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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests
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Central Tallgrass prairie
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Central-Southern Cascades Forests
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Sources & citations
Cite this page
For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. To cite a single upstream fact instead, use its specific source listed below.
Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Cantaloupe (Cucumis melo). Retrieved 2026, June 5, from https://plotwright.garden/plants/cantaloupe
Sources for every fact
Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited — 18 source-backed.
Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder
Botanical research database
Backs 17 fields
Identity
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Plant type
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Wikimedia Commons
Photo · CC BY-SA 2.0
Backs 1 field
Image
NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
University extension service
Community photos
The photos above are our reviewed reference set, curated for accuracy.
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