Zucchini plant problems

August 17, 2017 6:00 AM

My zucchini plants aren't producing male flowers. How do I solve this?

This seems to be the exact opposite problem everyone else on the internet has a solution for. There have been tons of female flowers, and they produce proto-fruit. However, there are no male flowers to pollinate them and the ovaries wither after a couple days. The plants are well watered and look otherwise healthy, and I'm at a loss. Help?

posted by backseatpilot to Home & Garden (3 answers total)

Where in the world are you? Male flowers usually precede female flowers, and unless you're some place where this is still 'early' you may be out of luck.

I might try popping off a few female flowers before they age out on their own, that could stimulate more blooms in general and hence maybe some males.

If you can get one male, hand pollinate, don't risk it to a perhaps depressed insect community and luck.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:39 AM on August 17, 2017

I agree. Pick off the female flowers and buds. If you are in the southern US, you may need to wait until the heat of summer starts to lift.
posted by tamitang at 10:30 AM on August 17, 2017

You can probably buy some blooming Zucchini transplants dirt cheap at big box stores right now, since they can hardly fruit much on their own. But if they have male buds you can use those to pollinate your bigger plant.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:30 PM on August 19, 2017