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03 Oct 11 Shelly (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

I was told that if I plant rockmelons and watermelons in the same paddock that the watermelons will be distaughted and small due to cross pollination from the bees, is this so? If so, what is the desired distance to plant from each other?

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13 Nov 11 Tracey in Melbourne (Australia - temperate climate)

Hi Shelly, They won't cross. Both are in the family Cucurbitaceae but they are each in a different genus - rockmelons are genus Cucumis and watermelons are genus Citrullus. For future reference, with plants that *can* cross-pollinate (eg. different varieties within the same species), you would not see any effect in the fruit you pick - you would have to collect the seeds and grow them out and pick the fruit they produced. So unless you are saving seeds for future use, cross-pollination isn't an issue. Hope this helps.

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