The Best Summer Squash & Zucchini Varieties for Your Garden

Summer squash and zucchini are some of the most rewarding vegetables to grow, producing fast-growing, high-yielding plants that keep your kitchen stocked all season long. But with dozens of varieties available—ranging from classic green zucchini to striped heirlooms, buttery yellow squash, and even climbing types—it can be tough to know which ones will perform best in your garden. Over the years, I’ve grown and tested more than three dozen varieties, learning firsthand which ones offer the best flavor, highest yields, and strongest disease resistance.

In this guide, I’ll share detailed insights on a wide range of summer squash and zucchini varieties, including their growth habits, flavor profiles, ideal uses, and best-growing conditions. Whether you’re looking for a compact bush variety for small spaces, a prolific producer for preserving, or a unique heirloom to try this season, you’ll find plenty of great options to consider.

Let’s dive into the best summer squash and zucchini varieties so you can choose the perfect ones for your garden!

Table of Contents

Summer Squash and Zucchini Varieties to Grow

Summer squash varieties include scalloped squash or patty pan, yellow crookneck, straightneck, cylindrical, green or gray zucchini, and Italian squash.

Crookneck: Aztec (55 days); Bandit; Crescent (53 days); Early Summer Yellow (53 days); Golden Dawn; Horn of Plenty; Medallion; Milano (42 days); Sundance (52 days); Supersett (50 days).
Straightneck: Butterstick (50 days); Early Prolific (50 days); Enterprise; Gold Slice; Goldbar (50 days); Multipik; Precious; Seneca Prolific (51 days); Sunbar (43-54 days).
Scallop or pattypan: Benning’s Green Tint (54-63 days); Butter Scallop (50 days); Golden Bush (68 days); Patty Pan (50 days); Peter Pan (60 days); Scallopini (60 days); Sunburst (50 days); Yellow Custard (50 days).
Zucchini: Ambassador (55 days); Aristocrat (48 days); Arlesa (45 days); Black Beauty (58 days); Black Jack (55 days); Chefini (51 days); Clarimore Lebanese (44 days); Cocozelle (striped-45 days); Condor (48 days); Costata Romanesca (80 days); Dark Green (44-60 days); Elite; Embassy (49 days); Gold Rush (50 days); Golden Dawn (45 days); Goldfinger (41 days); Greyzini (55 days); Jackpot; Lebanese Light Green (40 to 50 days); Magda (45 days); Midnight; Milano (42 days); Onyx; Raven (42 days); Ronde de Nice (45 days); Round Green (52 days); Seasons; Seneca (47 days); Spacemiser; Spineless Beauty; Tatume (52 days); Tipo (55 days); Viceroy.

Scallop-type squashes (also called patty pan)

Patty pan squashes are also known as cymling, custard marrow, or custard squash. The name patty pan comes from an old-style pan for baking patties. The word cymling comes from the English simnal cake which is fluted. The French call it patty pan squash pâtisson which is a Provençal word for a cake made in a scalloped mold.

Peter Pan Hybrid. 50 days. AAS winner. Meaty flesh has excellent flavor and quality. Uniform size, well scalloped, 2½ to 3 inches across; light green skin, pale green flesh; very productive, bush-type vine. Hybrid.
Sunburst. 52 days. AAS winner. Delicate, buttery flavor. Deep scallop shape with medium fluting; soft, bright-yellow skin with a dark green “sunburst” pattern; tender creamy white flesh. Pick as a baby squash with blossom still attached. Compact grower spreads to 2½ feet. Hybrid.
Scallopini. 52 days. AAS-winner. Meaty, sweet and nut-like flavor. Deep scalloped fruit with medium fluting 2½ to 3 inches across; dark green skin, pale green flesh. Compact vine, very productive over a long season; easy to grow. Hybrid.
Early White Bush. 55 days. Tender and succulent. Deep scallop shape, 2½ to 3 deep, 5 to 7 inches in diameter; pale green to nearly white skin when ripe; milky white flesh. Compact bush-like vine, very productive; popular for a home garden. Open-pollinated.
Sunny Delight. A medium-sized hybrid scallop squash about 2½ to 3 inches across, very similar to Sunburst but without the green marking at the blossom and stem ends. Sunny Delight is light butter yellow colored and flavorful. This squash requires 45 frost-free days to mature.

Open-pollinated patty pan varieties

Benning’s Green Tint is scallop-shaped from 2 to 2½ inches deep and 3 to 4 inches across at harvest. This squash has pale green skin and flesh and is thick and tender. Benning’s Green Tint is a long producer and is ready for harvest after 55 frost-free days.
White Bush, also called White Patty Pan and Early White Bush, is a pale green-skinned squash that turns to near white by harvest time. White Bush is 2½ to 3 inches deep and 5 to 7 inches across, quite large for a patty pan. The flesh is white, tender, and succulent. White Bush requires 55 frost-free days to harvest.
Wood’s Earliest Prolific is slightly scalloped 2 to 2½ inches deep and 3 to 4 inches in diameter. The skin is pale green to pale greenish-white at maturity. Wood’s Earliest produces throughout the season and requires 50 frost-free days to harvest.
Yellow Bush, also called Golden Bush, Early Yellow Bush, and Yellow Custard, is deeply scalloped about 3 inches deep and 5 inches across. Yellow Bush has deep yellow skin mottled with pale yellow. Its flesh is yellowish-white and flavorful. Yellow Bush requires 60 days to harvest.

Yellow straight- and crook-necked squashes

Early Prolific Straighneck. 55 days. AAS winner. Excellent flavor. Uniform, lemon yellow, club-shaped, lightly-warted fruits. Best when 4 to 7 inches long; fine-grained flesh. A good grower in the north. Hybrid.
Sundance. 52 days. Creamy flesh, a very good flavor. Bright yellow skin; curved club-shaped fruit with a medium thick neck that does not break easily; firm creamy white flesh. Compact, bush-like plant. Good choice for home gardens. Hybrid.
Early Golden Summer Crookneck also called Yellow Crookneck. 55 days. Mild flavor. Distinct, club-shaped fruit, bulbous as the blossom end, 8 to 9 inches long; golden yellow, warted skin; pale-yellowish flesh. Freezes well. Moderately vigorous bush-like plant, very productive. Growing in home gardens since 1828. Open-pollinated.
Dixie. 45 days. Delicious, tender flesh. Shiny lemon-yellow small crooked neck. Best taste when picked 4 to 6 inches long, right after the blossom falls from fruit, tender flesh. Compact grower. Very productive. Hybrid.

Zucchini types

Aristocrat. 53 days. AAS winner. Good flavor. Slender fruit to 8 inches long; dark green waxy skin. Very good yield. Adaptable grower. Hybrid.
Ambassador. 51 days. Crisp, tender flesh. Dark green skin with gold flecks, 7- to 8-inches long; white flesh. Compact bush type. High yield. Hybrid.
Black Zucchini. 50 day. Tender and flavorful. Straight cylindrical fruit with slight ridges grows to 9 inches long. Best picked at 6 inches. Glossy blackish-green skin; greenish-white flesh is firm but tender. Upright growth. High yields. Open-pollinated.
Burpee Fordhook. 57 days. AAS winner. Creamy flavor. Long cylindrical fruit, straight with slight curve; smooth, deep blackish-green skin; creamy white flesh; creamy white flesh. Produces more male flowers than most other summer squash. Freezes well. Best when 8 to 12 inches long. Vigorous bush-like plant. Open-pollinated.
Cocozelle. 55 days. Very flavorful. Long slender nearly cylindrical fruit, slightly larger at the blossom end; ribbed pale greenish-white skin, prominent dark green stripes; firm greenish-white flesh. Harvest when 6 to 8 inches long. Bush-type plant. Open-pollinated.
Gold Rush. 52 days. AAS winner. Very flavorful. Uniform straight fruit 7 to 8 inches long; deep golden yellow skin with contrasting rich green stems; creamy white flesh. Single-stemmed plant, very good production. Excellent for the home garden. Hybrid.
Greyzini. 55 days. AAS winner. Tender fruit. Grayish-green, mottled fruit, with faint stripes; grows to 6 inches long. Early harvest. Compact growth. High yield high. Hybrid.
Trombocini or Zucchetta rampicante. 50 days. Sweet, delicious, mild flavor. Long slender fruit curved at the stem end, bulbous at the blossom end; light yellow-green skin; firm flesh very firm. Harvest at 8- to 18-inches long. Vining plant up to 30 feet. Open-pollinated.