Reasons Your Zucchini Are Forming Only MALE Flowers
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
- It can be incredibly frustrating to try and grow zucchini only to have your plants only produce male flowers. In this episode, I will explain all of the common reasons why your plants may only be producing male flowers and not female ones. 
Thank you. I had this problem last year and(and I have it this year too). I asked an 'expert' grower from a seed company why my zucchini plants only produce male flowers. He said that wasn't possible and that there were female flowers but I just didn't see them. I have been gardening since I can remember (started with my parents when I was growing up). And I have been gardening in my own garden for almost 30 years. I know the difference. Thank you for this video and the answer for my zucchini problem. I really appreciate it!
Thank you! This video addressed a problem I was having.
We just experienced extreme high temps 90+ for past 3 wks, could this also explain lack of female flowers?
I’m having this problem for the first time this year myself
I had this happen last year 😢 4400 altitude in Nevada desert . One week it’s high triple digits next week the 90s🥴. Shade cloth , 30% , is a must .
This year I just put my plants out & hopefully they can make it.
Great explanation 👍👵🏻👩🌾❣️
I planted my straight neck yellow squash a little late. I also planted a few old zucchini seeds that didn't sprout, so I only had the one yellow squash plant, late. The first flower was female with no male flowers in sight. I went over to the community garden with a artists paint brush in a plastic bag and stole a little pollen off a male pumpkin flower. Success. I have been hand pollinating for years. Ever since I started experiencing pollination failures with squash. I grow a lot of herbal things that the bees love, but some years especially, there are just not enough bees.
Dude literally read my mind as I got back home from the garden. I’ve got the exact issue.
Thank you Luke, this was very timely. I will put this information to work today
Oh my gosh my two plants have had all male flowers this year first time ever. But now that I watch us I don’t think they’re getting enough sun this year. I’m gonna plant some more in a different spot. Thanks for this I needed this video today.
We live in the desert southwest in northern AZ (5500' elevation) and have ours under a 40% shade cloth (high UV index), minimum of 8 hours of sunlight. We have had highs between 90°-104°F since June, so the sun shade helps. Fertilize every 2 weeks. These are the best plants we have ever produced, however, lots of male flowers. Everytime I get a female flower it doesn't ever open the flower. So excited to have the plants finally do well, but I guess I have to find the happy medium between beautiful plants and female flowers. Really wanted zuchinni this year. Thank you for the video, I just searched this topic yesterday.
Try to self-pollinate?
@@melindawargowsky8176 Can't get to female flowers, they only create small flowers and never open....
Did you check early morning?
I noticed mine open at 3 am the other night.
Thank you, Luke! Perfect timing on this video. Always had full sun, and an abundance of squash. I’m in a smaller challenging spot now with shade and crowding. I’ve also been hand pollinating a lot, because of the lack of pollinators here.
Thank you; this is timely for me.. our squash has had a very hard time producing squash. It's been very hot here for weeks.. I read that during very high temperatures squash plants produce only male flowers. Lee in S.C.
High heat might be my issue too. The 3 things he mentioned are definitely not it.
I didn't even know I needed this video and it has solved 95% of my zucchini problems.
Tell me something workable here, Luke, because I am about to abandon my zuccs & squashes :-( AND YOU DID!!! this is the first time I am hearing that they need Nitro! THANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH!!
My squash plants have huge leaves and flowers like this. I just noticed female flowers and the honey bees in my area are loving them.
Honey bees or other type of bees? I rarely see honey bees on squash despite having 4 beehives in my yard.
Thank you, Luke. I'm just starting my 1st zucchini plant, so this info will come in handy. 😊
Thanks for the video from Johannesburg. Last year was a bad year for all my squash..... i usually just throw the seeds in and get bumper crops. Last year , very little of any squash variety.
Ditto. I have every single bad news topic for squash right now. 8 different variety squash plants all going down, one by one, with every single possible ail.
Thank you, what you share is something very interesting. 💛💛For me this is so special, that I have to watch it until the end. Best wishes to you. May you always have health and beautiful days👍👍
I found a random yellow squash plant where my dog normally digs. I was so excited when I saw the flowers. Not sure if she or the grasshoppers are eating it. :( I have not been able to keep up with the garden in the heat here in SC. Oh, well! Maybe winter squash will survive.
The bugs got mine.
Me too 😢
Vine borers destroyed mine. I just started round 2.
Informative. Thank you for your time, Luke 🌱👍
Thank you!!! I don't have zucchini but rather bottle gourds that I planted under an oak tree in front of my house. I wanted them to grow around the oak tree and since I'm new to gardening I foolishly altered the natural phototropic growth path of the plant without taking into account the rather obvious factor of shade. All I had to do was move the plant out of the oak's shadow and now it's growing wonderfully.
I’m having this issue with my cantaloupe. I’ll give these tips a try! 🤞
Now I need a CAgardener! The lack of Sunshine is not my problem! The 115 deg heat is!!
I have struggled with hot and humid weather but not a lot of sun. I certainly don’t get mine hours of direct sun. I will try something different for next year. I can’t produce more sun. 😂
Thank you , I learned a lot from this presentation!❤
Great Explaination Luke. Thanks.
I have lots of little fruit with flowers that never get more that about 3 inches long and very few male flowers? Thanks for your videos love your channel!
Same! Full south sun, water, fertilizer, huge dark green leaves, huge plants, tons of male flowers, seriously at least a hundred. Do you want to know how many zucchini’s have I harvested? A big fat zero so far.
Looking forward to the female flower only video!
Yes please!
Love the content, I appreciate all the hard work you put into each and every video! Hank you
Wow! This changed my gardening!
I think my zucchini was hit by the struggle bus
same here!
Same… and then put it in reverse and backed over ‘em too!
Zone 9b cali and we've been in a heat wave since the end of June. So have 40% shade cloth up to protect from the daily 105 to 113 temps we've been living in for weeks now. So def not getting the fruit like I did before the extra heat 😔.
Arizona the same 115 + shade cloth, frequent watering (up to 3 x day) we be cooking right fine this summer!
Your squash looks great. Of course mine are suffering from powdery mildew, which comes on strong this time of year!! 😓
Use 1 part mouthwash 4 parts water and a drop of dish soap for your powdery mildew
@@heatherebel2955 thank you!!
Something keeps eating my male flowers AND it ate through 3 types of netting and tulle. Persistent little bugger.
Perhaps squirrels?
If it's eating through the netting, it's probably an animal (not bugs). My guess - raccoons.
Mongoose?
@@MichelleHeltay rats do that where I am in SE MI
Get a trail camera- fairly cheap
I just wanted to point out it’s nobody’s business how my zucchini identify themselves
😂😂😂
Did you just misgender my plants?
💀
Now there really are only male & females on the plant 😅
😂😂
Identity isn't the problem at my house. The real problem is why all the girls have rotten flowers?
I did have some end rot, added bone meal for calcium. Not sure if that solved it yet, but seems better
Calcium works for peppers and tomatoes, so I would hope it helps your zucchini.
Calcium was a game changer for my tomatos
First of all I want to thank you for all the great information I have learned from you in the past I am hoping you can give me some advice this has nothing to do with zucchini's or squash but I recently took out a shrub in my front yard and I want to replace it with a root bearing Bush I live in zone 7 and I would like it to be a perennial Where I get rewarded year after year can you recommend anything for me please thanks again keep up the great work
Sorry that should say fruit
First, thank you very much Luke for all of the great information and for the great seeds! I just placed my third order in the past several months.
My question… I had a zucchini plant that wasn’t forming any flowers at all. No mayo, no female…nada😢. Any ideas why? It was like this for three weeks before I decided to pull it because squash vine borers got to it.
Is the 60 degree "too cold" rule for the day's high? Or if the temp ever falls below 60 (like it will often do at night)? Thank you. This video has been very helpful. This was my first year of total failure with my butternuts.
Luke, This was perfect timing for me. I have 3 zucchini plants in large containers and only 2 of them are producing fruit , and one is only producing male flowers. Turns out my shade cloth for my tomatoes was partially covering this one zucchini plant. It has beautiful green leaves and lots of male flowers. So I removed the shade from projecting on my zucchini plant and I'm confident I'll see some female flowers soon! I believe you are correct. It was not getting enough sun. Of course we are having 100's for weeks now, but I water twice a day. Hope that works.
My plants are struggling due to two weeks straight of 100+ temperatures. Not much to do about that than keep up on the watering.
Same here!
Shade cloth helps
Hi Luke can u explain in detail when u say heavy feeder about how much should you add per container
Well, I’m still perplexed … this year, I went vertical, and spaced generously apart, with herbs around, above them is 40% shade cloth … the vines grew at least 3 to 4 feet up, never had such large green leaves, used trifecta, mulched, fertilized … had some zucchinis in the beginning, but beginning of July? Nothing … and still nothing. (All other veggies grew fantastically in same conditions) But! I sowed grey zucchini, some beneath the shade cloth, some in grow bags with no shade cloth. Sure, it’s hotter now than back in late April, but I get to test the sun exposure advice from this video, because all of his other tips were in place already.
After listening to your troubleshooting list I can only surmise that my lack of female flowers could be due to the fact that I am heavily pruning off the leaves while tying the growing plant to a cattle panel for vertical growth. Am I removing too many 'solar panels'?
Great video, Mahalo for sharing.
Thank you!
But Luke...squash bugs
Can you move the plant late in the season? And could you advice about squash bugs?... they are every where! 😢
Well …..haven’t had my garden for almost 2 years (to clarify) started it up have raised beds x 2..each 4x10…tomatoes beautiful little to almost absent harvest, zucchini no female flowers, green pretty plants full sun plenty warm with shade cloth (Arizona desert dry really hot doesn’t cool much at night) have to water two to three times a day, fertilize every 7 days micronutrients and ready to eat liquid yummy stuff (stinky fishy stuff). Gave up this week chopped them down (were pretty large)..you gave lots of ideas but doesn’t fit mine 🥺 my butternut are doing ok fruiting ok, not great, just ok. Peppers? Pretty green struggling with heat, some blossom end rot, very few peppers…I decided new garden soil and that is it….i follow much of your advice, buy your seeds (love them). I have to direct sow my plants as I have no place to pot them to start 😞..they always germinate 😁 thank you for all your help! Really needed this episode!
We have 105 - 110 temps and only water once a day around 4am. 4 x 8 boxes. Lots of produce. My green beans and herbs are under a shade cloth, zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes in full sun. The frogs moved in and keeeping the bugs down. I wonder what AZ has that NorthCali doesn't that you can't get produce even though the heat is comparable.
Of course I've got both problems. Male flowers and rottage. 🙄🤦♂️🤣✌️😎
I am in central Texas with high 90's to 102 degrees. I had beautiful leaves, was fertilizing every other week and plenty of sun. We do use a shade cloth for afternoon sun since so hot.
My question is -
What if the female zucchini is there but the flowers don't open to be pollinated???
I had the same problem here in central Texas. I was carefully praying open the flowers and hand pollinating. Sometimes it worked & sometimes didn't.
I have been pruning back my beautiful big leaves. I have a lot of mail flowers. Do you think that my pruning back is part of not getting female flowers?
I am having the same problem now! I have never had zucchini plants with only 1 vegetable. Blossoms everywhere but no harvest. What the heck? I am usually getting more than I can handle. I will try one of these remedies.
my zucchini leaves are getting some disease. It's not fungal in my opinion. It looks like fine brown dirt particles in leaves and the leaves are left small and crispy. The sunflower leaves have the same disease. In the beginning of the season the leaves were big and green. Now that the zucchini is much taller, no zucchinis are forming and if there are female flowers the developing zucchinis are rotting. I hand pollinate because I can't rely on pollinators on my balcony in a city centre apartment. I don't think it's an airflow problem since the plant is growing on a support upwards. My eggplant is doing great so it can't be a temperature issue.
Thanks for nentioning subscribing is free. When I was new to UA-cam, I went a looong time b4 subscribing to anything, I thought I was going to be billed monthly😮
When I lived in East TN and Western NC, I could grow summer squash like crazy. I moved to Chapel Hill, NC in the central part of the state and we suffer from extreme heat, humidity and drought, so I have to water almost every day. My squash plant looks fantastic. The leaves are vibrant green and I have enormous male flowers. But every time a female flower forms, the tiny little squash is about half an inch long and it just sits there not growing. Our temps have been in the 90s, often high 90s for weeks now. Could that be the issue? I've yet to have a successful harvest of yellow squash here and it's so frustrating after growing with little to no effort previously. I feed them well with good organic fertilizer and baby the plant, but nada. Would planting another squash nearby be beneficial? I've been gardening for my whole life and summer squash is my Waterloo!
I also like zucchini..nice garden..
please help, afternoon setting sun (105 degrees) wilts squash plants, so I grew under shade and fruit production very slow. Should I remove shade? Thank You
Do these issues also translate to other squash-type plants? I have several Marques pumpkins that aren't producing female flowers.
I live in the low AZ desert zone 9b. Our temp are above 110. Can zucchini handle that hot sun without artificial shade? I get both male and female flowers but the fruit doesn get pollinated even though there are insects crawling on them. Little ants, no aphids, and very tiny fly like bugs.
Great video
I believe that my plants are too close together. I end up having to cut out half the leaves "the solar panels" so the pollinators can access the flowers. How far apart should I plant my zucchini seedlings?
My zucchini’s are just 6 leaves as the weather in SWEngland is so bad, cold , wet, cloudy most days.
Oddly enough, one of my yellow summer squash plants was producing too many female flowers and no male flowers. What would cause this?
Weirdly, I have one that is producing a ton of female flowers as well as male flowers (my normal green version) and my white zuk, which is next to it, is only producing males (except for two females so far). I seem to always have issues with non-green zucchinis.
Thank you.
So I have just the opposite problem and can’t find a solution. My cucumber plants only produce female flowers. The cucumbers right now are tiny and appear to be fine but for how long without fertilization. Any clue what could be going on? Thank you
Tbh we grow squash just for the blossoms. Can buy zucchini all day at the market when we want them, blossoms not so much.
Im so fed up with my zucchini plants. They put out female blooms all over, no male flowers. Now that the female stuff died off, now i have oodles of male flowers. Not one female to polinate. Grrr, im ripping them out today. Disgusting things.
Cut and save your male flowers in the refrig for up to four days ( I put on a wet paper towel in a small plastic container) . When the female flowers bloom you will have a male flower to use to artificially pollinate. Just peel back the petals to expose the male parts with pollen and gently touch to the female flower parts.)
@barbmcghee2028 thanks for the tip. The weather has really messed with my attempt at a garden. I have a shade blanket thing I will put up next year. I'm sure it will be hot again. I'm in soggy western Washington, not used to these high Temps. Dries my little web feet out.
Ah... I made a video about this and planned to release it next week 😅
I have a ton of leaves all over shading my squash plant and yes there are mostly male flowers. Should I prune some of the leaves out? I have to really search to find the flowers hidden in there. There is only one green spaghetti squash growing so far.
You can prune lots of leave off zucchini.
struggle bus captain here
Not so much about zucchini but my winter squash plant (one of four) is only producing male flowers . All four are each in containers and the containers are filled with compost . I water them every day and about once a week water with Miracle Grow . Three have produced fruit but one has only produced male flowers. All are in full sun . All have richly colored dark green leaves...Why do I have this issue? Thanks
If you haven't already, you could try pruning some of the male flowers.
THANK YOU.
I planted an Eight Ball zucchini last year and it only produced female flower, all the fruit failed. Now I am trying Golden Glory because it is supposed to be parthenocarpic🤞
Im new to planting and I just dont understand how my grandparents used to grow everything on their farm in Ukraine never worring about adding any nutrients yo soil and still got their harvest in the fall, but I can't grow a single cucumber or zucchini in Boston area😂. Does it mean the soil here is very poor in nutrients, so you always need to add nitrogen like you 've mentioned?
How about if we are stuck at 100 + degrees? We are warm, actually super hot!!
I actually have the opposite problem. My plant is producing female flowers, but no male flowers.
Mine just droop from the full on sun and heat, the soil has been amended very well but still no female flowers and a ton of squash vine borers
The vine borers are demons. Pull up your plants and clean up the soil around it. Next spring use Sevin in a ring around your plant about an inch into the soil. That is the only thing I have used that prevents them from ruining things. If it's a really rainy spring, you made need to do this more than once. I didn't apply a second round of Sevin and I think the borers are starting with my yellow squash plants. I'm going to pull them up this week.
One of mine broke at the base the other one just died out of no where have no idea why
More than likely squash vine borer
If the vine is mushy, it probably has a vine bore inside the stem and is eating the vine....ugh
I have the opposite problem, tons of female flowers but no male flowers, what should I do now?
Ok so I have a zucchini that kept the flower on the end and was kind of flat at the end and when I took off the flower it had this weird deformed growth under where the flower was… what is that about? I have a photo I could send. Very creepy
We stuff them with any chese and pan fry them. ❤ Nummers
0:28 : so what's the solution for the ones that turn yellow at the end?
They didn’t get pollinated
Mine is poor pollination. I have a lot of female flowers but not many male flowers. I try and hand pollinate
Im struggling the critters are eating my squash at night befor they grow to size.
Does the same logic that low nutrients will cause a zucchini to primarily produce male flowers apply to cucumbers?
my zucchinis rot when they are between 1 and 2 inches long, even before the female flowers get a chance to open
If I have one make can I pollinate multiple females?
Now if you could just tell me why my passion fruit vine is not flowering.....
All that and squash vine bores! 😡
If you bread and fry Zuc, youre missing the whole point of the Zuc.
Little sad to let us down like that in the end
I don't know what wrongs with mine
What about just female flowers.....???
I am only getting FEMALEs…. NOW WHAT?!🤷♀️
Thank you 😊