White pumpkins look calm and clean on a fall porch, and they pair with almost any color. They also behave a little differently from orange pumpkins. Some white types can pick up a yellow tint, and their pale skin shows every scuff. Here is what to know about the main varieties, how to help them stay white, and how to style them.
Common white varieties
There are a lot of white pumpkins to choose from. Rupp Seeds, a seed company, lists fifteen white varieties, including Lumina, Casper, Baby Boo, Cotton Candy and Full Moon. A few you are likely to see:
Lumina: University of Georgia Extension horticulturist Terry Kelley called it the traditional standard white pumpkin, at 5 to 12 pounds.
Casper: another long-standing white variety. The gardening site Epic Gardening notes that it takes a long growing season to develop its snowy skin.
Baby Boo: a mini white pumpkin. New Mexico State University describes it as about 3 inches across, a good size for a table.
Full Moon: Kelley described this white type as able to top 80 pounds.
What color is inside
Kelley also noted that most white varieties are orange on the inside. New Mexico State University says Lumina has orange flesh suited to pies. Sources do not agree on whether Baby Boo is edible, so it is safest to treat the minis as decoration only.
Why white pumpkins can turn yellow
White skin is not always permanent. Epic Gardening notes that some white pumpkins need a bit of shade or they will yellow, that Full Moon needs shade to stay white, and that Cotton Candy can turn yellow depending on its surroundings. Seed sellers also advertise newer white types for holding their color, which tells you fading is a known issue. Johnny's Selected Seeds, for example, says its Ghost Town variety keeps its bright white color for longer.
How to help them stay white on the porch
Since shade helps, place white pumpkins in the shadiest part of the porch, under the roof line, rather than on a sunny step. Handle them gently, because bruises and scrapes show easily on pale skin. Wipe off dirt with a soft cloth instead of scrubbing. Our post on washing pumpkins before you display them explains a gentle way to clean them. Keep them off surfaces that stay wet so the bottoms dry out. If one does start to yellow, turn that side toward the wall or tuck it behind other pumpkins.
Styling white pumpkins with other colors
White works as a neutral, so it can carry a whole display or calm down a busy one. Try white with soft green and gray-blue pumpkins for a quiet farmhouse look, white with deep orange for a classic fall contrast, or white and cream in mixed sizes for a tone-on-tone porch. White with dark green accents feels a little more dramatic. Group pumpkins in odd numbers and mix sizes, with a large Lumina type at the back, medium ones in front and minis along the edges. For more on how different kinds compare, see our guide to pumpkin types explained.
How long they last
White pumpkins follow the same rules as orange ones. Cornell University horticulturist Steve Reiners told NPR that a pumpkin that was healthy when picked can last 8 to 12 weeks. Oregon State University Extension recommends keeping pumpkins at 50 to 55F and notes that they break down quickly when stored below 50F, so bring them in before a hard freeze if you want them to stay pretty into late fall.
Questions about your pumpkins?
If you have a pumpkin question we did not cover here, we would be glad to help. Call or text us at (513) 409-0005, or send a message through our contact page. We are a family-run business right here in the Springboro, Dayton and Cincinnati area, and we are always happy to talk pumpkins.