PlantFiles: Okra
Abelmoschus esculentus 'Clemson Spineless'

From your friends at Botanical Interests, inc. - Clemson Spineless Okra 80 is earlier and more productive than the original 1939 All America Winner, Clemson Spineless. You don’t have to live in the south to enjoy growing your own okra---it is easy to grow in most climates. Okra has so many uses! It is commonly known as the thickening agent in gumbo, but it can also be boiled, broiled, fried, roasted, steamed, canned, or pickled. The crunchy and tasty pods are high in Vitamin A and can be grown in almost any climate. Plants are 4’-5’ tall. Related to the hollyhock, the beautiful flowers alone make it worth growing in your garden!

This was my first time with okra. We planted 8' of it. From that we canned 20 pints of pickled Okra, and ate at least 15 (two person) servings.

Eventually had to cut it down when it was over 9' tall.

Can't wait till next years crop!!

This variety is readily available in 'big-box' stores and feed/ farm suppliers.

This variety of okra was probably the most productive of all the plants in my garden last year. Just three plants produced enough okra to fry up a batch for the family at least once a week, and they continued to produce until around mid-November when the first frosts nuked them. Plants grew to a height of about two meters...this plant also does well in a variety of soils.

This year I've already had to replant a few times due to wind/pet damage, but the two plants that have been in the garden the longest are only about 6 weeks old and already producing their first pods. Pods should be harvested when about 10 cm (4 in or so) long as they quickly become fibrous and difficult to cut...even with a serrated knife.

This is my first time growing this particular cultivar, in both the ground & in containers, & I am more than pleased with it.

I started the seeds (old 1999 Burpee seeds, by the way) indoors on 3/29 & had 100% germination by 4/1. Plants in the ground have reached around 5' tall; container plants around 4'. Both the leaves & hibiscus-like yellow flowers have an ornamental "tropical" appearance, & I will definitely be planting more of this in deck containers next year.

Unlike the other posters above, I have harvested pods as long as 6", & they've been as wonderfully tender & delicious as the smaller pods - something I wasn't able to claim when I grew the "Burgundy" cultivar in the past. Extremely prolific, as well as pest & disease-free, I've really been enjoying these sliced into Asian stirfries as well as Indian curries.

This will definitely be on my "must plant" list for 2006.

Just found this the other day at Lowes. It'll be my first time planting okra. I just got one little plant to see how it does.

I like to eat the small pods raw while picking a mess. Of course, I do not use pesticides.

Very productive and popular in the South. As the person stated in the post above, be sure to harvest small as they will get tough quickly.

Clemson Spineless is the most widely available okra in the southeast. It is not as tall as many of the southern varieties, but is a heavy producer of medium green ridged pods. In my opinion, it get tough, fibrous and seedy quicker than other varieties that I grow.