Xiye Butternut Seeds, Heat Tolerant Storage Variety

Xiye Butternut seeds grow a modern open-pollinated winter squash with tan skin and orange flesh for roasting and storage.

🛡️ Vine borer resistance, the solid stems of Cucurbita moschata can offer some resistance to squash vine borers, but plants still need monitoring for damage.

Cucurbita moschata varieties are generally less susceptible to squash vine borers than many other squash, but damage is still possible. Growing conditions and care matter. Why species predicts survival here.

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Xiye Butternut is a modern open-pollinated moschata, not an heirloom. It came out of a deliberate U.S. breeding project that crossed a Central American highland squash with Waltham Butternut, then selected the result over several generations for downy mildew resistance and for the ability to keep setting fruit through weather that swings hard. That is exactly the problem a Kansas summer hands you, which is why it earned a spot in this catalog. The variety is named in honor of climate activist Xiye Bastida, and it carries the Open Source Seed Initiative pledge, meaning it stays free for anyone to grow, save, and breed from.

The fruit is a classic butternut silhouette with tan skin and rich, deep orange flesh that gets sweeter in storage. It handles the brutal mid-summer stretch without losing fruit set, and cured squash will hold in a cool dry room for months.

Xiye is Cucurbita moschata, a species often chosen for vine borer resistance. Its dense stems can make damage less likely, but pest damage is still possible. Check plants for eggs, entry holes, sawdust-like frass and wilting, and continue scouting for squash bugs.

Will it ripen before frost? Xiye Butternut needs 115 to 120 days from sowing. In a typical Newton, Kansas Zone 6b season the first fall frost arrives between October 10 and 20, so direct sow by about June 3 to finish with a two week cushion. Planting later, or gardening in a different zone? Check your own planting window.