Did you know that Cucumbers are enriched with vitamins and other minerals making you full?
These varieties may have different features like smooth to spiny, lots of seeds to no seeds at all.
Among these slicers, picklers, disease-resistant, and unique varieties, you may choose the best fit your needs.
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Top 10+ Different Cucumber Types
Basically, there are only two Cucumber types: Slicing Cucumber and Pickling Cucumber. However, they include many disease-resistants, hybrids, and cold-tolerant varieties.
Pickling Cucumbers are mainly used for making pickles due to their small size. But, if you want to make salads and dressings, you better choose long, crispy, Slicing Cucumbers.
A. Best Pickling Cucumbers
Pickling Cucumbers, commonly known as picklers, come in tiny sizes and may not taste good if you let them grow bigger.
However, you can also enjoy some pickling varieties as slicers, which will taste good even if they grow bigger.
1. Chicago Pickling
Chicago Pickling Cucumber is one of the popular pickling types, with a thin layer covered in black spines.
Moreover, this disease-resistant variety has a light and crispy taste you won’t notice in other Cucumbers.
This slicing Cucumber is native to Chicago and is mainly used as pickles.
2. National Pickling Cucumber
As its name suggests, National Pickling Cucumber is a widely used variety with dark green spiny fruits.
This delicious slicer produces 5-6 inches long Cucumbers ready to harvest in 55-65 days to maturity.
Native to Michigan, this Cucumber variety thrives in the warm climate and produces lots of yields.
This hybrid variety is resistant to scabs, bacterial wilt, and the Cucumber Mosaic virus.
3. Jackson Supreme Cucumber
Jackson Supreme Cucumber is a gynoecious plant with many flavors and disease-resistant ability.
Moreover, this plant needs a male pollinator, so make sure to plant the full packet of seeds; otherwise, your plant may not flower.
B. Cucumbers for Cold Climate
Usually, Cucumbers thrive in warm weather and cant tolerate extreme frosts. However, some varieties may tolerate cold climates if you plant smartly.
4. Socrates Cucumber
Native to Persia, Socrates thrives in cold, dry climates with temperatures ranging from 50 to 82°F.
This disease-resistant variety produces only female flowers and lots of yields in 50-52 days.
You can harvest their thin layered, sweet, dark green Socrates after they become 7-8 inches long.
5. Bushy Cucumber
Bushy Cucumber will be a perfect choice if you have a little space and still want to plant Cucumbers.
These short-vined Cucumbers have a bushy appearance taking only 2-3 sq. ft of space.
Bushy Cucumbers are rapidly growing varieties that originated in Russia and are perfect for Moscow gardeners.
6. Armour Cucumber
Armour Cucumbers are delicious varieties native to Europe with excellent cold-tolerant ability.
This Cucumber variety is parthenocarpic and needs not depend upon any insects for pollination.
You can harvest this rapidly growing Cucumber variety when they become 3 to 4 inches long only in 47 days.
Grow them in your outdoor vegetable garden or greenhouse to enjoy them fresh and delicious.
C. Longfellow Slicing Cucumbers
Longfellow Slicing Cucumber is a bred, open-pollinated variety bearing white spiked classic Cucumbers with excellent flavors.
These Cucumbers tolerate cool springs and are popular for their yields and vigorous growth.
7. Excelsior Cucumber
Native to America, Excelsior Cucumber bears dark green color with American-style spines.
Moreover, Excelsior Cucumber resists several pathogenic diseases like scab, Cucumber mosaic virus, powdery mildew and target spots.
8. Katrina Cucumber
Katrina is a seedless Cucumber variety Native to Bait- Alpha, Isreal, and highly adapted to hot climates.
Even if the plant faces heat stress, you can enjoy its 5.5-6.5 long freshly crisp fruits in 6-8 weeks.
These thin-layered mini Cucumber varieties are disease-tolerant and will bless you with tasty fruits without pollination.
D. Disease-resistant Cucumber Varieties
Pathogenic diseases like powdery mildew, scabs, white spots, etc., are likely to invade your Cucumbers if you live in an area with summer rains.
These pathogens leave spores on Cucumber leaves but cannot invade the fruits of these disease-resistant varieties.
9. Unagi Cucumber
Unagi is the cross between Persian and Asian Cucumbers that appears green and smooth without spines.
Unagi Cucumbers are hugely resistant to many diseases like scabs, Cucumber mosaic virus, spots and powdery mildew.
Moreover, its disease-resistant ability helps it to thrive in hot, humid or wet conditions throughout the season.
10. Lagos Slicing Cucumbers
Native to America, Lagos Slicing Cucumbers are also called American Slicers and have developed excellent disease-resistant abilities.
You can grow this crispy, dark green, seedless variety anywhere in your greenhouse or outdoors.
Also, this variety is rapidly growing and takes only 47 days to fruit, even on rainy days or cold climates.
E. Unique Cucumber Varieties
Unique varieties of Cucumbers can add fun if you are bored or monotonous from the same old garden activities.
There is a wide diversity of unique varieties of Cucumbers like lemon, Dragon’s egg, silver slicer, etc. These varieties are also helpful for artistic culinary decorations.
11. Mexican Sour Gherkin
Mexican Sour Gherkin is a special variety of Cucumber native to Mexico that looks like a mini watermelon.
This open-pollinated variety produces 1-inch-long oval fruits and allows you to harvest them regularly after about 67 days.
Moreover, you won’t have to slice them, just eat them directly or make a pickle out of them.
However, Mexican Sour Gherkin doesn’t yield much and can develop harder seeds if you grow them longer than 1 inch.
12. Lemon Cucumber
Lemon Cucumbers are unique Cucumber varieties native to Mediterranean southern Asia.
This amazingly flavorful variety appears round and yellow, just like lemon, and is popular in culinary arts.
These open-pollinated plants take almost 68 days to bless you with 3 inches-long, sweet, and crispy fruit.
13. Dragon’s Egg Cucumber
As its name suggests, Dragon’s Egg isn’t really an egg but a sweet, crispy, round, and cream-colored Cucumber that Originated in Croatia.
Dragon’s Egg will be perfect if you are searching for something interesting to plant with your children.
Additional 8 Cucumber Types with Distinct Features
Cucumbers come from the cucurbit family and are close relatives of pumpkins and melons with wide leaves.
Normally, they take about 50-70 days to produce about 20-30 fruits per plant. Here are some other varieties for you to choose from!
| Broad Types | Examples | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Slicing Cucumbers | Armenian Cucumber | 11-15 inches long, thin, curved with dark or yellowish green color |
| English Cucumber | Long fruits growing about 12-15 inches with thin layered dark green color, pointed to the end | |
| American Cucumber | Straight 8-10 inches long cucumber with dark green smooth skin without bumps and yellow marks on tips | |
| Japanese Cucumber | 6-12 inches long fruits with thin bumpy skin and sweet, crispy taste | |
| Persian Cucumber | 5-6 inches long narrow cucumbers with spiny skin and mild flavor | |
| Pickling Cucumbers | Kirby Cucumber | 6 inches or less with thin yellowish-dark green skin with bumps that tastes crispy and mild |
| Gherkins Cucumber | 2-3 inches fruits with light green spiny skin with crunchy texture | |
| Lemon Cucumber | 1 inch fruits with soft seeds and sweet crunchy flavor |
From Editorial Team
Choose Cucumber varieties as needed!
If you have the health issues like asthma or allergies, you can choose disease-resistant varieties to relieve the problems.
Moreover, if you want seeds for next year, choose open-pollinated varieties for yearly planting.
Also, you can grow parthenocarpic fruit varieties if your garden lacks pollinators.
