How to Grow Zucchini (or Any Summer Squash) Vertically

Zucchini is very easy to grow vertically. With a few simple steps, you can continue to grow and harvest zucchini all summer long.   Let me show you how easy this is to grow zucchini vertically.

Part 1:  About Zucchini and All Summer Squash

Zucchini plants, like all summer squash, do not have tendrils like a cucumber or winter squash plant. And because it does not have tendrils, the zucchini plant will not climb vertical structures on its own.  It will continue to grow and “snake out” and “sprawl” thru our garden as it sets fruit and grows more flowers waiting to be pollinated..    

This summer squash plant has been a great producer but it’s starting to take over the entire garden bed

Part 2:  How to Train Your Zucchini or Any Squash Plant to Grow Vertically

The Stake and Twine Method:

The most popular method is to drive 6 foot stake into our garden bed 12-16” and tie our zucchini plant to that stake as it grows.   Ideally, we would place the stake in the garden bed at the time of planting or before so we do not disturb the root system and potentially creating a nutrient delivery problem leading to blossom end rot.

Side Note:  Why not grow zucchini or summer squash up a trellis?  Well, the leaves on the zucchini plant are very large and they will become compressed against the trellis and I just find that as you try to maneuver the zucchini plant each week or two to re-tie it up the trellis, it is very easy to damage the leaves and stems of the plant.

My Preferred Method - Use a Trellis Frame:  

What if we are growing in raised beds and we want to grow the zucchini vertically after it has already matured?   If we don’t want to drive a wooden stake in our garden bed, and potentially damage the root system of our plant, can we still grow zucchini vertically? Yes we can.

We can build a SIMPLE trellis frame. The frame is the same design as the raised bed garden trellis we talked about a few weeks ago but we just build it without the trellis netting.

What if you have a larger bed and want to grow three or four zucchini plants vertically in a row?  Simple.  Just insert a vertical cross member during the frame assembly for each zucchini plant you want to hold upright.   There you have it, a vertical structure to hold each plant up.

Once we have the trellis frame attached to the sides of our garden bed, we just have to follow these simple steps to grow zucchini vertically (or any summer squash).

Step 1: Attach and Anchor Screw

We need to gently lift up the zucchini or summer squash plant and lean it against our frame. This gives us an idea of where we will secure the plant to our bed. At this location, we drill a screw into our trellis frame leaving about 1” - 1.5” out of the wood from which we can attach our wire.

Step 2: Attach One End of a 10”-12” Piece of Wire to the Anchor Screw

Cut a 10” - 12” piece of wire with rubber outer coating, and wrap one end of it around the anchor screw like in the picture below.

Step 3: Wrap the Wire Around the Plant Stem

Wrap the wire around the plant stem in order to keep the plant vertical. We do not need to wrap it too tight. A loose wrap will hold the plant vertically and will allow for more stem growth.

Step 4: Wrap the Tail End of the Wire Around the Anchor Screw

The final step to secure our zucchini plant vertically is to wrap the tail end of the wire around the anchor screw. This will keep the plant vertical while it continues to grow and produce fruit.

Part 4:  Conclusion

About once a week, as the plant grows, the top of the plant will begin to lean over towards the ground. We have to repeat the process of holding it up by repositioning the plant (lifting it up against the frame) and inserting a new screw and wire to hold it up.   

There are so many benefits to growing zucchini and all summer squash vertically.

1)    Easier to prune.  As our zucchini plant grows and sets fruit, we should prune those leaves above the fruit we have just harvested and up to the next fruit.  By training the zucchini plant to grow vertically, we make this task very easy as everything is up off of the ground and we can easily get around the zucchini to prune those branches that are below the fruit.

2)    Helps prevent powdery mildew. Keeps the branches off of the ground and improves airflow around the plant.

3)    Takes up much less space and allows us to grow zucchini for much longer thru the season without the plants interfering with other plants.

4)    Puts the flowers up In the air, not hidden by foliage making it easier for the flowers to be found by pollinators.

If you have zucchini or summer squash growing now and want to get them growing vertically, give this method a try. For even more tips on growing zucchini, see the video link below.