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How to Grow Cantaloupe - "Melon-Collie and Me"

Kent Phillips (June, 2013)

Summary

Master Gardener Kent Phillips plants cantaloupe, known better in the botanical world as muskmelon. Other than watermelon, melons grown in MD fall into the species Cucumis melo. The "cantaloupes" that we so look forward to in mid-summer are actually muskmelons- the Reticulatus Group within Cucumis melo. These melons are netted (rough skin) and usually slip from the their stems when ripe. The true cantaloupes are in the Cantalupensis Group. They are usually smaller than muskmelons, are not netted, and do not slip from their stems when ripe. True cantaloupes are not typically grown in the U.S. Honeydew, casaba, and crenshaw melons are in yet another group within Cucumis melo.