Pumpkins

[curly_kate]

Hi guys!
This is more of a philosophical question, but why do the male pumpkin flowers flower so much sooner that the female ones? My pumpkins started to flower a few weeks ago, but the female flowers didn't start until just this week. And a lot of the male flowers are already dead. What gives?

 

[OaklandCityFarmer]

Think of it as nature's way of announcing a buffet.

Often with most cucurbits the male flowers come first. This works as an attractant to pollinators, letting them know that there are flowers there. This is so when the female flowers start coming around the pollinators are present and can quickly get to work.

It's normal and is just a way for nature to do it's thing.

 

[ams3651]

correct me if im wrong but I know that in my garden a flower doesnt mean pumpkin all the time. I dont know if they are male or female.

 

[Beekissed]

The female flowers have a slight bulge at the base and are some smaller than the males, ams.

... but why do the male pumpkin flowers flower so much sooner that the female ones?

Maybe, as is usually the case, males are done with "pollinating" much faster than the females... :bee
:rose

 

[averytds]

So if I have tons of flowers, but they just die off and I'm not getting pumpkins, or in my case spaghetti squash, it means the bees aren't getting the job done?

 

[bills]

Averytds, I find that with many squash plants the male flowers outnumber the female quite a bit. You should have female flowers by now on your plants, although it may depend how old they are. The female blossoms will dry up but you should see the small squash at the base of the dry flower, if they have been fertilized. The male blossoms are often on a stem, where the female is right close to the vine. I suppose this may depend on the variety grown, but usually that's the case.

If you aren't getting small squash/pumpkins appearing soon, you may have to hand pollinate. Take a very small soft bristled paint brush, (I use the kind for painting model cars) and gently swirl it in the center of a nicely opened male flower. Then go to a female flower's center and give it a twirl. Repeat this process, until all the female flowers have been given a dose of male pollen. Ifyour bee population is poor, you had better try this.

I will often prune the vine end after I see several fruits growing on a leader. This allows the plant to put more energy into growing the fruit, rather than the vine. As the season progress's if you don't prune the leader, you will still see fruits forming along it, but often they won't mature to a decent size, before mildew, or frost hits the plant. I find it better to grow for quality, rather than quantity. Most pumpkin, or squash will have several leaders, producing fruit, so you still end up with a good number of fruits per plant.

 

[averytds]

Thanks for the info. I will check them. So far I've only got one that I know of. Course the pumpkins just started this last week, so maybe the bees were just being lazy.

I'm really anxious to try spaghetti squash and I was hoping to have some to put up.