no blooming male flowers on pumpkin / squash plants - Ask Extension
This year (2024) I have noticed that all my pumpkin and squash plants have blooming female flowers and the male flowers are not anywhere near ready to...
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no blooming male flowers on pumpkin / squash plants #878114
Asked July 21, 2024, 1:03 PM EDT
This year (2024) I have noticed that all my pumpkin and squash plants have blooming female flowers and the male flowers are not anywhere near ready to bloom. The male flowers are only an inch or less tall and are still very green and tight. The female flowers are either in bloom or have already shriveled up, All my bins are done in the Hügelkultur method and bags of compost/manure were added in the early spring. I have fertilized with Osmocote. Plants look very healthy. Do you have any ideas why the male flowers are not ready but the female ones are? I have been gardening for years and usually have male flowers before female flowers.
St. Louis County Minnesota
Expert Response
Plants are totally confused by the weather, too much water, wide temperature swings, it’s the end of July and overall the temps have been very cool. What we would consider as normal hasn’t happened. And it isn’t that unusual for one sex to dominate but eventually the male and female flowers almost always appear together, usually males are produced first and then females catch up. Do you have a friend with squash vines and male flowers? Hand pollination isn’t difficult and worth a try because who knows how long our season will be.
