VegetableGourd
Extra Long Snake Gourd
Extra Long Snake Gourd is a striking annual vine from the Cucurbitaceae family that transforms your garden into a lush, vertical landscape while producing remarkably elongated pale green gourds perfect for Asian cuisine. Hardy from zones 3 to 11, this heirloom variety reaches 15 feet tall and produces harvestable fruit in just 60 to 69 days, making it surprisingly quick for such an impressive grower. Known by a dozen regional names across Asia, including dudi, Mao gua, and po gwa, it brings both culinary authenticity and visual drama to any vegetable patch.
Photo © True Leaf Market
Growing Conditions
USDA Zone
3-11
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Soil
Well-drained, Fertile Loam, Organic Matter
Growth Stats
180 in
Height
TypeVining
Spacing
60
Plant Profile
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Zones
3-11
Size
180in H x ?in W
Growth
—
Care
High
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Highlights
The fruit lives up to its name, stretching into impressively long, smooth pale green gourds that add genuine visual interest to the garden long before they're ready for the kitchen. In Chinese cuisine, these gourds shine in soups where their mild flavor and tender texture absorb surrounding broths beautifully. Despite their impressive size and vigor, the vines mature surprisingly fast, typically producing harvestable fruit within two months of planting.
Common Uses
Extra Long Snake Gourd excels in soups, where its mild flavor and tender flesh absorb and complement broths and other ingredients beautifully. In Asian kitchens, it's sliced and simmered into everyday broths, adding both nutrition and subtle sweetness. The young, tender gourds can also be stir-fried or steamed, though the plant's reputation rests primarily on its soup applications, where the gourd becomes almost silken as it cooks.
Growing Timeline
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Care Instructions
Start Indoors
Start seeds indoors in warm conditions (70-85°F) 4-6 weeks before your last spring frost date. Seeds can be sown directly into seed-starting soil, kept consistently warm, and should germinate within 7-10 days under proper conditions.
Transplant Outdoors
Transplant hardened-off seedlings into the garden only after all frost danger has passed and soil has warmed to at least 70°F. Space plants 60 inches apart with 72 inches between rows. Plant in a location that receives full sun throughout the day.
Direct Sow
Direct sow seeds into warm, frost-free soil once temperatures consistently reach 70-85°F. Plant seeds about 1/2 inch deep and thin seedlings to 60 inches apart when they develop their first true leaves.
Harvesting
Harvest gourds when they reach full length and the skin has turned pale green and feels smooth and firm to the touch, typically 60 to 69 days after sowing. Cut fruit from the vine using a sharp knife rather than pulling, which can damage the plant. Younger, more tender gourds work best for cooking; avoid harvesting fruit that has begun to yellow or feel soft, as these are past their prime for culinary use.
Pruning
As a vigorous vining plant, Extra Long Snake Gourd benefits from training onto a sturdy trellis or support structure early in its growth. Guide main vines upward and remove any dead or diseased foliage that develops during the season. Light pruning of excessive lateral growth can improve air circulation and fruit visibility, though the plant's natural sprawl is part of its charm.
Growing Calendar
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Companion Planting
Pests & Diseases
Ecology & Traits
Edible
Scientific Classification
Trichosanthes cucumerina var. anguina
Family
Cucurbitaceae
Genus
Trichosanthes
Growth Habit
Vining
Native Status
L48 (I)
History & Origin
“Extra Long Snake Gourd carries deep roots in Asian agriculture, particularly across China and Southeast Asia, where it has been cultivated for generations as a staple vegetable. This heirloom variety represents an open-pollinated, non-GMO lineage that gardeners and seed savers have preserved and passed down through families, maintaining the distinctive elongated fruit form that defines the variety. The plant's multiple regional names reflect its importance across different Asian food cultures, each community developing its own growing and culinary traditions around this single species.”