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Cucumber plant - which is male and which is female?

Bill_and_BenBill_and_Ben Posts: 161
in Fruit & veg
I've recently bought a cucumber plant which has thrived in only a week. I've read that the male bits should go because they cause bitterness but I'm really not sure which is which or is it too early to tell yet on my plant?
My location: Histon, near Cambridge, UK


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Posts

  • war garden 572war garden 572 Posts: 664
    the one in picture are all male. 
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    You can tell instantly,  you’ll see a little cucumber form behind the flower, if it’s like the one in your close up,  it’s a male. Can’t see what’s on the other side of the plant. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • LunarSeaLunarSea Posts: 1,923
    Surely the fruit, ie. a cucumber, can only form on a female flower. As with all plants, the fruit forms from the swollen receptacle which is the female part of the flower.
    Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. 

    I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    edited July 2023
    As Lyn says you're looking for the ovary behind the flower which looks like a swollen stem

    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    LunarSea said:
    Surely the fruit, ie. a cucumber, can only form on a female flower. As with all plants, the fruit forms from the swollen receptacle which is the female part of the flower.
    It's the seed rather than the fruit which is the problem. Removing the male flower prevents pollination and seed formation, and maybe the bitterness is the plant's response to prevent the fruit being eaten until the seed is ripe.

    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • Bill_and_BenBill_and_Ben Posts: 161
    edited July 2023
    Thanks to all. Do I break off just the flower or the whole stem? If I remove the male ones how do the female ones get pollinated. Also it's in the greenhouse so there might not be as many insects to pollinate.
    My location: Histon, near Cambridge, UK


  • Bill_and_BenBill_and_Ben Posts: 161
    LunarSea said:
    Surely the fruit, ie. a cucumber, can only form on a female flower. As with all plants, the fruit forms from the swollen receptacle which is the female part of the flower.
    Yes, this is the case but I am trying to work out if the stems/flowers i have are male or female as I wondered if they were too new to be distinguishable yet. i.e. female but stem not yet swollen. I'm new to cucumber growing as you may gather!
    My location: Histon, near Cambridge, UK


  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    What variety of Cucumber did you buy @Bill_and_Ben ?  Some have only female flowers but others have both - in the latter, male flowers come first rather like Courgettes :)
  • admin1aC9B8PVadmin1aC9B8PV Posts: 3
    wild edges is right I think. I've had a similar experience in the past with male tomato plants.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    admin1aC9B8PV said:
    wild edges is right I think. I've had a similar experience in the past with male tomato plants.
    Eh?
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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