Comparing four pickling cucumber varieties

Let your growing space make the first cut

For a small outdoor space, look first at Bush Pickle’s shorter vines. If you have room for a climbing plant and want small gherkins as well as larger dills, compare National Pickling. For covered growing where insects cannot reach the flowers, Excelsior F1 has the relevant fruit-setting trait. Parisian Pickling earns its place when you want a traditional cornichon type and can keep up with picking small fruit.

Those are four different reasons to choose a plant. A photograph of an appealing jar cannot tell you whether the vines will fit beside your chair or whether flowers will set fruit in your greenhouse.

If you would rather answer a few questions, use Find my cucumber. If you are unsure which packet details matter, read how to choose pickling cucumber seeds first.

Bush Pickle: when the vines are the problem

Fruition describes Bush Pickle as a short-vined cucumber spreading about 24–30 inches, or 61–76 cm. It recommends taking fruit below 5 inches, about 13 cm. That makes it worth investigating when long stems would obstruct a patio or a small garden.

Measure that spread on the ground before deciding it fits. A plant described as compact still occupies space, and its canopy width tells you nothing about the amount of potting mix its roots need.

Choose the container separately using the one-pot cucumber plan. Keep room to reach the mix with a watering can. Shorter vines can make the layout easier; they do not remove the watering job.

National Pickling: a useful outdoor climber

Eden Brothers’ National Pickling guidance describes outdoor climbing growth and a 2–3 inch harvest, about 5–8 cm, for small gherkins. Fedco also describes the open-pollinated variety for small pickles and larger dills. Consider it where you can arrange the vines and reach the developing fruit.

The practical advantage is a choice of picking sizes. Mark the size you want before the first cucumbers appear, then use it when checking the plant. The largest fruit pictured on a packet is not automatically the right cucumber for your recipe.

Do not choose it for an insect-excluding setup on the strength of “open-pollinated”. That term describes how a variety is maintained through breeding; it does not establish fruit set without insects.

Excelsior F1: when pollinating insects cannot get in

Johnny’s specifies Excelsior F1 as parthenocarpic and gynoecious, with blocky fruit around 4–5 inches, or 10–13 cm. It is described for greenhouses and screened or covered growing. Parthenocarpic means fruit can form without pollination; that is the useful feature for this decision.

Allow training space for its vigorous growth. Territorial’s description also discusses protected, trellised cultivation. This is not a dwarf plant simply because the cucumbers are relatively short.

If seedless fruit matters to you, plan for pollen exposure too. A variety that does not need pollination can still produce seeded fruit when pollen reaches it. Think about nearby cucumber varieties and insect access before mixing plants in one growing space.

Parisian Pickling: choose it with a picking routine in mind

Baker Creek describes Parisian Pickling as an open-pollinated French cornichon type with vigorous vines. Its stated picking range is 2–4 inches, about 5–10 cm. It is a candidate for small whole pickles when that range fits the recipe you intend to use.

The commitment is regular inspection. A tiny pickle can be hidden beneath a large leaf, so arrange the plant to make fruit easy to see and reach. If you can only visit occasionally, be realistic about how consistently you can collect a narrow size range.

Use the harvest checks to decide what is ready. “Cornichon” does not mean the plant stays small, and it does not give the fruit a safe preserving method by itself.

The two packet terms that change the pollination decision

In Johnny’s cucumber terminology guide, gynoecious describes plants with female or mostly female flowers. Some need pollen from another plant. Parthenocarpic describes fruit development without pollination. The two terms can apply to the same variety, as they do to Excelsior, but they are not interchangeable.

For this shortlist, Excelsior has explicit evidence of fruit set without pollination. Do not extend that claim to the other three because a packet says F1, heritage, open-pollinated or all-female.

For a Latvian greenhouse and a smaller whole-pickle target, there is a more specific comparison of Adam F1 and Dirigent F1.

Why 35 days is not necessarily quicker than 52

Maturity figures start different clocks. A transplant has already spent time growing before a “days from transplanting” count begins. Keep the number with its definition instead of ranking these varieties by the smallest figure.

• Bush Pickle: 45–50 days in Fruition’s description; the starting event is not clearly specified beside the figure.
• National Pickling: 52 days; Fedco defines its cucumber count as days from seeding.
• Excelsior F1: 35 days on Johnny’s current page; the crop-specific growing information says from transplanting.
• Parisian Pickling: 50–60 days in Baker Creek’s description, without a stated starting event beside it.

Put one choice into a workable plan

Write down the exact name, where the plant will grow, whether it needs pollination and the picking size you intend to use. Then check that you have a way to support, water and reach it. These choices turn a seed shortlist into something you can start.

The guided grow plan turns your setup into a supply checklist. When you have the seeds, follow the sowing steps. Choose a pickling method and complete recipe before deciding how you will process the harvest.

Sources

Cultivar descriptions checked 17 September 2026. Dimensions are rounded conversions; keep each maturity figure with its stated counting basis.

The linked profiles provide the individual specifications. Johnny’s terminology guide explains the pollination distinction; Territorial’s Excelsior profile provides additional growing context.