Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Marketmore Cucumber (Cucumis sativus 'Marketmore')cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Marketmore cucumber, slicing cucumber.

More about marketmore cucumber

About Marketmore Cucumber

Cucumis sativus 'Marketmore' · also called Marketmore cucumber, slicing cucumber · edible

'Marketmore' (notably 'Marketmore 76') is a reliable open-pollinated outdoor slicing cucumber producing straight, dark-green fruit 18-20 cm long. Bred for disease resistance — including scab and cucumber mosaic virus — it is a hardy, heavy-cropping ridge type that performs well in cool-temperate gardens without a greenhouse.

Cold limit: USDA Frost-tender annual; sow out after last frost, nights above 12°C (zones 4-11 as a summer crop) · RHS H1C (no frost tolerance; protect below about 10°C) (18-28°C)

What marketmore cucumber's hardiness rating actually means

Marketmore Cucumber is not cold hardy. It is a tropical houseplant that dies if it is left out through frost — there is no zone where it overwinters outdoors in a UK or cold-US climate. Its RHS rating of H1b means: Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season. On the US scale that maps to USDA Frost-tender annual; sow out after last frost, nights above 12°C (zones 4-11 as a summer crop) — the zones where it can be left outdoors year-round.

New to these scales? The USDA hardiness zone map explained covers how the zone numbers work, and you can find your own zone with the zone finder.

Minimum temperature — and what happens below it

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about 10 °C (sustained cold below this is damaging). Marketmore Cucumber has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

Concretely, for marketmore cucumber as it gets too cold:

Below about about 10 °C, growth stalls and the leaves start to show cold stress — dark, water-soaked, or yellowing patches.
A single light frost blackens the foliage; a hard freeze kills the whole plant, roots included, and it does not recover.
Even a cold, draughty windowsill or an unheated porch in winter can be enough to damage it permanently.

Can marketmore cucumber go outside or overwinter — and where?

It can holiday outdoors in summer once nights are reliably above 10 °C, in shade or dappled light, hardened off gradually.
Bring it back indoors well before the first autumn frost — do not wait for a frost warning, move it when nights drop toward 10-12 °C.
It will never overwinter outside in a temperate climate; the indoors is its winter home, full stop.

Work back from your local frost dates with the frost-date calculator: the last spring frost and first autumn frost are what really decide when marketmore cucumber can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H1b figure above.

Marketmore Cucumber hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is marketmore cucumber cold hardy?

Marketmore Cucumber is not cold hardy. It is a tropical houseplant that dies if it is left out through frost — there is no zone where it overwinters outdoors in a UK or cold-US climate. Indoor-only in almost every home. Marketmore Cucumber can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA Frost-tender annual; sow out after last frost, nights above 12°C (zones 4-11 as a summer crop)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature marketmore cucumber can survive?

What hardiness zone is marketmore cucumber?

Marketmore Cucumber is rated USDA Frost-tender annual; sow out after last frost, nights above 12°C (zones 4-11 as a summer crop) and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can marketmore cucumber survive winter outside?

It can holiday outdoors in summer once nights are reliably above 10 °C, in shade or dappled light, hardened off gradually. Bring it back indoors well before the first autumn frost — do not wait for a frost warning, move it when nights drop toward 10-12 °C. It will never overwinter outside in a temperate climate; the indoors is its winter home, full stop.

What happens to marketmore cucumber below its minimum temperature?

Below about about 10 °C, growth stalls and the leaves start to show cold stress — dark, water-soaked, or yellowing patches. A single light frost blackens the foliage; a hard freeze kills the whole plant, roots included, and it does not recover. Even a cold, draughty windowsill or an unheated porch in winter can be enough to damage it permanently.