I wouldn't consider any zucchini plant a vine. Zucchini plants are very compact and only get to be around 3 feet long, if that. Compared to a pumpkin or gourd which are easily 25 feet, 3 feet is nothing. You can tie them to a stake or trellis but they will not climb them on their own. What pictures are you talking about?

"Dark Green Zucchini" is a very compact vine that will grow 2-3 ft long with internodes of about 1 inch between the leaves.

Not all zucchini plants are compact bush types. However, it seems that most of the ones that the seed companies carry nowadays are. In fact, I remember as a teenager many decades ago, when most zucchini cultivars offered by seed companies were of the vine type. Seeds for the special bush types of squash always seemed to cost more.

Most of the heirloom zucchini squash will probably be vine types. A popular "modern" cultivar of vine-type zucchini is Black Forest. Its claim to fame is that is will actually climb a trellis without having to be trained by hand.

Here is a link that might be useful: Black Forest

hello again

Thanks very much for your answers! This is definately an heirloom variety...

So basically it will be a vine but would not climb by itself so I will have to tie it on the trellis?

Thanks for the info re black forest too!

I may try some next year.

S

Sunita, you probably won't have to pollinate it yourself. Just watch the flowers, when they appear. If you see bees, of any sort, working them, then you won't have to pollinate.

Perhaps the most common squash question we see here is something like: "My zucchini are flowering but not setting fruit. What's the matter?" Most often this is just for a week or so before they really get going. But if you should need to hand pollinate, here's a link to some instructions.

George
Tahlequah, OK

PS. By the way, Dark Green Zucchini is a nice variety.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hand pollination of Squash

Even the "bush" zucchinis may well grow 5 or 6 feet....IF they live long enough which they usually don't because of disease.

Give hand-fertilisation a try, it's not hard and it definitely increased my production last year. Not sure why my plants had so much trouble setting fruit on their own, but hand-pollinated they did great.

So, I saw the picture of "Black Forest" zucchini. So, for the record, are any zucchini vining? Or is the "bush" cultivar basically part of the definition of a zucchini. I can't see using something like a topsy turvy to hang any zucchini plants from that I've heard about. Are there exceptions?

Here is a link that might be useful: me