Heirloom Butternut Squash Varieties: Five Butternuts With a Story
Most seed racks treat butternut as one thing. It is not. Butternut is a whole branch of Cucurbita moschata, and the named varieties differ in size, season, storage life, and story. Because every butternut is a moschata, they all share the trait Kansas gardeners care about most: solid stems that squash vine borers have a very hard time tunneling into. This page is the tour of our butternut bench, from a 1970 award winner to family heirlooms that nearly disappeared.
Side by side
| Variety | Type | Days | Fruit | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waltham | Heirloom, OP | ~105 | 3-5 lb | The benchmark, AAS winner, long storage |
| Bakers Branch | Appalachian heirloom, OP | ~100-110 | 3-6 lb | Family-line provenance, heat tolerance |
| South Anna | Virginia OP | ~100-110 | 3-5 lb | Bred for downy mildew resistance |
| Violina Rugosa | Italian heirloom, OP | ~100-110 | 4-8 lb | Wrinkled skin, dense sweet flesh |
| Honeynut | Modern OP mini | ~110 | 1-1.5 lb | Single-serving size, intense flavor |
| Xiye | Modern storage type | ~100 | 3-5 lb | Heat tolerance, long shelf life |
Waltham: the standard everything else is measured against
Selected in Waltham, Massachusetts and an All-America Selections winner in 1970, Waltham is the butternut that made butternut famous. Reliable set, 3 to 5 pound fruits, and storage that carries a September harvest into late winter. If you have never grown a butternut, start here. Seeds · Growing guide
Bakers Branch: the Appalachian family line
A named-provenance heirloom carried through Appalachian kitchen gardens, the kind of variety that survived because families kept saving it. It handles heat well and holds the classic butternut flavor with a little more richness. Rarely offered anywhere. Seeds · Growing guide
South Anna: the disease-resistance project
An open-pollinated Virginia variety from a modern breeding effort focused on downy mildew resistance, built on a Seminole-butternut foundation. In humid summers where other butternut foliage collapses late, South Anna keeps its leaves and finishes its fruit. Seeds · Growing guide
Violina Rugosa: the Italian original
Older than the American butternuts and shaped like a wrinkled violin, this Italian heirloom is the one chefs ask about. The rugose skin hides dense, deep-orange flesh that roasts sweeter than any smooth-skinned butternut we grow. Seeds · Growing guide
Two modern varieties worth knowing
Honeynut is a modern open-pollinated mini from a university breeding program, not an heirloom, and we label it honestly. What it offers is a one-pound butternut with concentrated flavor, perfect halved and roasted for two. Seeds · Growing guide
Xiye is a modern heat-tolerant storage butternut we carry for one reason: it shrugs off Kansas July and keeps for months in a cool room. Seeds · Growing guide
Growing notes that apply to all of them
Butternuts want warm soil (65 to 70 F), full sun, and room to run. In Zone 6b Kansas, sow mid May to early June and harvest when stems cork, then cure 10 to 14 days. Stored at 50 to 60 F, moschata squash keeps 4 to 6 months. Start with the complete butternut growing guide, and if vine borers are why you are here, read why pumpkin species matters or browse the full vine borer resistant collection.
