VegetableOkra
Blondy Okra
Dwarf Variety
Blondy Okra is a compact, award-winning cultivar that brings the charm of full-size okra into smaller gardens and shorter growing seasons. This dwarf variety grows just 3-4 feet tall, producing an abundance of creamy light green, spineless pods that reach ideal harvest size at 3 inches, making it remarkably efficient for home gardeners who want maximum yield from minimal space. With just 50 days to maturity, Blondy proves that great things truly do come in smaller packages, rewarding quick succession planting with multiple harvests throughout the season.
Photo © True Leaf Market
Growing Conditions
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Soil
Well-drained, Fertile Loam; Warm Soil Preferred
Preferred Temp75-90°F
Growth Stats
—
Height
—
Width
15 in
Spacing
50–59
Days to Harvest
PeriodAnnual
TypeBush
Plant Profile
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Zones
?-?
Size
?in H x ?in W
Growth
Annual
Care
High
Hover over chart points for details
Highlights
Blondy earned its AAS (All-America Selections) award for good reason: this is a dwarf okra that doesn't sacrifice productivity for compact size. The pods are distinctly creamy light green and completely spineless, a feature that makes harvesting far less prickly than traditional varieties. What sets Blondy apart is its reliability in short-season gardens and its tendency to produce abundantly in a compact footprint, making it ideal for container growing or tight garden spaces where standard okra varieties would dominate.
Common Uses
As an okra cultivar, Blondy is grown for its edible pods, which are harvested young and tender for cooking. The spineless characteristic makes these pods particularly pleasant to handle in the kitchen, whether you're slicing them for stir-fries, stewing them into soups and curries, or breading and frying them. The compact plant size and prolific production make Blondy especially suited to gardeners who want to enjoy fresh okra without devoting large garden beds to the crop.
Growing Timeline
First Bloom
Early Summer
First Harvest
Mid-summer
Last Harvest
Early Fall
Care Instructions
Direct Sow
Direct sow Blondy seeds into warm soil after all frost danger has passed and soil temperatures are consistently warm. Okra germinates best in warm conditions, so wait until late spring or early summer in most regions.
Harvesting
Blondy okra pods are best harvested when they reach about 3 inches in length, at which point they're tender and ideal for cooking. Don't wait too long, pods can grow up to 6-7 inches when fully mature, but they become tougher and more fibrous as they age. Harvest regularly by snapping or cutting pods from the plant with a knife; frequent picking encourages the plant to continue producing more blooms and pods throughout the season. Look for pods that still have a slight give when squeezed, they should be tender and not woody.
Growing Calendar
Enter your ZIP code to see a personalized growing calendar for this plant.
Companion Planting
Ecology & Traits
Edible
Scientific Classification
Abelmoschus Medik.
Family
Malvaceae
Genus
Abelmoschus
Duration
Annual
Growth Habit
Upright
Native Status
L48 (I)PR (I)VI (I)
History & Origin
“Blondy is an AAS-winning cultivar, a designation that means it has been officially trialed and recognized for superior performance by the All-America Selections program, a rigorous horticultural honor given only to outstanding new varieties. The variety was specifically bred to address a gardening need: creating dwarf okra for shorter growing seasons and space-limited gardens, all without compromising the prolific harvests that okra is known for.”