I have a few zucchini plants that are not producing fruit. They all look very healthy, big, tall, and keep extending their territories. All have lots of flowers, but the female flowers wilted before they bloom.
Hardiness Zone: 5a
By Wing from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Pollination is the issue. You have no male plantings going on. This happened to me a couple years ago, Master Gardeners said it happens. Lots of beautiful flowers, no fruit on the vine. And you don't know till too late to eat the blossoms that it is not the one.
Thank you so much for your feedback. You were right about pollination issue as there could be no pollination if the female flowers wilted before blossoming. I read elsewhere that it may be the lack of calcium. So I added a different fertilizer with calcium and magnesium.
I'm having this problem now, and suspect pollination. How can I fix it? Can I put on my butterfly wings and use a toothpick and move pollen from one flower to the next, or does it need to be shared between 2 different plants? If the latter, is there a male and female plant? (sorry, I love gardening, but don't know much about how to garden.)
Thanks Becky Jaine Raleigh NC
Pollination should be your first consideration. We don't have enough bees anymore to do all the work; I go out first thing in the morning and look over my zukes and other squashes. Oftentimes, a single plant will produce both male and female flowers. Mostly male early on, but the female (fruiting) flowers should come on shortly.
I hand-pollinate by removing the male flower from the stalk, peeling back (every so gently so as to not disturb the pollen) the flower petal part (eat this, its subtle flavor is yummy!) and leaving just the base and the center. Then stop by one or two female flowers and pollinate them by hand. They should go on to produce fruit as long as they are getting enough water.
The flowers should be new that day; older flowers tend to be too far past prime.
Works for me in AZ most every time. Good luck!
If you don't have enough bees to pollinate, you will have to do it by hand. Take a Q-tip and stick it in the center of one flower and transfer the pollen to another.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have several of zucchini plants this year and they are huge! My problem is that they bloom with flowers and then all of the sudden the flowers close up and then eventually fall off. I do not have any animals getting inside the garden and I have checked for any pests and there are none. I water ever other day usually as long as it's not extremely hot and in that case every day! Can you help me with any suggestions? I have managed to only grow one zucchini so far.
By Shelly
When I was living in AL I had the same problem. What I did was I took the bloom that had fallen off, and peeled back the petals. Then I rubbed the inside of the bloom gently on the other blooms that were open.
Believe it or not, zucchini flowers are considered a treasure. For years, Italians have made zucchini flower fritters. Please let me know if you care to receive the recipe.
Yes, please and thank you. I would like the recipe for zucchini flower fritters.
My zucchini is growing lots of big bushy leaves and lots of blossoms, but none of those blossoms are growing into veggies. Why? I would welcome any advice.
Fertilize the plants. There is probably something lacking in the soil. Add a tablespoon of Epsom salt in a gallon of water and water them. If you are actually seeing the blossoms, grab a cotton swab and gently swipe the center portion. Continue to each bloom. YOU will be pollinating them.
Have they only been blooming a week or two?
Squash have both male and female flowers. You can easily see the difference. Not only are the centers of the flowers different, but the female flower has a baby squash at the base. But the male flowers always start blooming a week or two before the female flowers start blooming. If you're in that time frame, hang in there. Pretty soon you'll have plenty of zucchini.
I get only male flowers on the zucchini plant. It's been about two weeks so far. What should I do?
By Gene W
The female flowers arrive a week or so later than the male flowers.
I'm growing courgettes in green houses. The problem is that my production has stopped after a few weeks even though my plants are strong and have green large leaves. Bees are also working very well. I don't think there is poor pollination. Can you give some suggestions as to what may be the problem?
By baljeet
What does a male and a female zucchini fruit look like?
The females have the fruit right at the end. The males have a stem and no fruit
How do I know the difference between a male and a female zucchini and cucumber plant?
By Jaye L
There are three ways to determine which is which.
1. Stems - The male blossom has a long, slender stem, while the female blossom is on a short stem.
2. Blossom Attachpoint - Male blossoms have only a slender stalk directly attached to the stem. The female blossoms have a small bulbous area below the flower. This is actually the ovary which is an unfertilized zucchini.
3. Inside flower - Look inside the blooms. The male blossom has a stamen in the center of the flower. Female does not. The pollen on the stamen pollinates the female plant.
My zucchini plant will bloom, but I don't see where it is producing fruit. What should I do and is it too late?
Thanks.
By Linda
No. It's not too late, it's actually too soon. Now that the flowers are there the bees and butterflies will polinate them. Then the fruit will start to grow. Give it more time.
My zucchini plants look beautiful and have large green leaves. They were grown from seeds (which were planted 1-16-12). There are beautiful large blooms, but no zucchinis yet. What is the problem?
By BRT
You answered your own question with the word "yet". Just wait, the butterflies and bees will pollinate them, then they will show up. It's too soon.
Why do I not have zucchini squash even though there are lots of blossoms? When the blossoms fall off, a tall stem that looks as if the flower fell off is all that remains.
By Ann H
The first blossoms are the male blossoms. They don't produce fruit. Later, the female blossoms appear on the end of the fruit.
Why are all the flowers on my 4 courgette (zucchini) plants all male?
By chris from Kent
The first flowers are always male; they are because the pollen will be waiting for the female flowers. Just wait a few days.
Zucchini flowers but no fruit comes.
Hardiness Zone: 8a
By Pat B from Marysville, WA
Zucchini plants have both female and male flowers, and bees usually do the pollination. However, some years, I remove a male flower that has opened and rub the pollen on the female flower just after it also has opened. This will give me fruit.
To understand the difference between a male and a female flower, look it up on the internet. A female flower has a swollen small zucchini behind it.
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I planted Zucchini this year. I have had many blossoms for about 2 months, but not one Zucchini. Why? Pretty soon it will be too cold for the plants. Should I expect them or not and why/not?
I live in New Jersey and have a problem with Zucchini plants. The plants are huge and healthy and producing an enormous amount of flowers, but no Zucchini.
I have planted a zucchini and it has started producing a lot of male flowers (a month ago), but it hasn't produced a single female flower.
