Luffa Gourd

This is one of the most rewarding and remarkable plants you can add to your garden. It’s a vigorous, climbing vine that produces a natural sponge. The plant itself is a beautiful ornamental, with silvery-green foliage and bright yellow blossoms that will happily scale a strong fence or trellis, growing up to 20 feet. It's truly fascinating to watch the 12- to 24-inch gourds develop over the season.

The real magic comes at the end of the year. Once matured and dried on the vine, the gourds' fibrous interior is revealed—a perfect, all-natural, biodegradable sponge. It's the ultimate plastic-free alternative for scrubbing dishes, cleaning, or exfoliating in the bath. This is a very long-season (130 days) and heat-loving plant. To ensure you get a full harvest of usable sponges, northern gardeners will need to start seeds indoors and give them a good head start.