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General gardening question

L

lostmind

So I have a couple zucchini plants. One gold, one green. they are both growing great, giant leaves nearly a foot wide, both plants about 3 feet across and 2 feet high. One of them has about 6 little zucchini's growing on it and a dozen male flowers. The other has two dozen male flowers, but no zucchini's?

Is the second plant strictly male? Does that happen? Anyway to make it start producing zucchini's? :)
 
I didn't know zuchinni had male and female flowers so I can't help you...sorry...maybe someone can help....
 
I really don't know, all I found was this:

The zucchini has a male flower and a female flower, which must be pollinated in order for you to get proper fruit. To hand pollinate, break off a male flower, remove its petals to reveal the yellow pollen on its pistol, then roll the pollen onto the center stigma of the female flower.

You tell flowers apart because female flowers are larger and have a baby fruit behind their petals. The male flowers grow on a long stem and are smaller.
 
lostmind said:
So I have a couple zucchini plants. One gold, one green. they are both growing great, giant leaves nearly a foot wide, both plants about 3 feet across and 2 feet high. One of them has about 6 little zucchini's growing on it and a dozen male flowers. The other has two dozen male flowers, but no zucchini's?

Is the second plant strictly male? Does that happen? Anyway to make it start producing zucchini's? :)
Click to expand...

All members of the squash family should have BOTH male and female flowers... Make sure they are not falling off first... Check for the little fruit+flower on the ground.

Early on there will be WAY more males than females, nitrogen and hot weather also cause this.

You can also try cutting off some male flowers before they bloom, this will cause the plant to grow a little faster.
 
hmmm, cutting off male flowers? Sounds a bit sadistic but I will try it :)

The one plant for sure has 0 female flowers. It seems a bit odd.
 
lostmind said:
So I have a couple zucchini plants. One gold, one green. they are both growing great, giant leaves nearly a foot wide, both plants about 3 feet across and 2 feet high. One of them has about 6 little zucchini's growing on it and a dozen male flowers. The other has two dozen male flowers, but no zucchini's?

Is the second plant strictly male? Does that happen? Anyway to make it start producing zucchini's? :)
Click to expand...

Wow, I grew these last year and never noticed. The one that has no flowers yet should be ok in the long run, if it was planted at the same time concider it a "runt" for now.

The other 2, you could hand pollinate as discribed above by rainbowbery or you can find ways to attract pollinating insects like honey bees. I've used natural white clover and dandilions. Yep, that means leaving a patch of weeds unmowed for a few weeks at a time. I also have a small flower garden nearby with Lavender, Baby's Breath, and Carnations for now.
 
The one plant is growing great zucchini's. I think it's cause I have so many strawberries flowering. Oh and my thyme is huge and flowering.

So yah, tons of bumblebees here.

The one "runt" had all it's male flowers chopped off. There was 14 of them. There are a few new little nubs coming up, in a day or two I should be able to tell if any are female. Here's hoping!
 
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