Type
delicata heirloom
Winter Squash variety
Delicata Winter Squash
Produces cream-colored cylindrical fruit with green striping and sweet fine-textured flesh. It has thinner skin than many winter squash and is easy to prepare.
Days to maturity
80 to 90
Best for
roasting, small gardens
About Delicata
Delicata is an heirloom in the Cucurbita pepo group, producing oblong cream to gold fruits striped with green along the ribs. The thin skin is tender enough to eat once cooked, and the sweet flesh has a flavor often compared to sweet potato and corn. Improved bush selections such as Cornell's Bush Delicata offer more compact plants and better powdery mildew tolerance.
Growing Delicata Winter Squash
It matures in roughly 90 to 100 days and stays more compact than the big maxima squashes, so bush strains work well in smaller gardens. Because the skin is thin there is no need to peel, but that same thin rind means it stores for only one to three months rather than all winter. Harvest when the background color shifts from pale green to cream or gold and the stripes darken, and watch closely for powdery mildew.
Full growing guide
For planting dates, care, and harvest that apply to all winter squash, see the complete guide.
How to grow Winter SquashOther winter squash varieties
Variety characteristics are general guidance for US home gardens; performance varies by climate, soil, and season. Seed and plant availability differs by supplier. Page updated Aug 4, 2026.