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Female-only flowers on cucumbers
chocomog
Posts: 6
in Fruit & veg
Hey everyone!
I've currently got four cucumber plants growing outdoors in their own large patio tubs and they seem to be doing very well with lots of lush green growth and flowers. The problem is, all the flowers are female. The variety is Amanda F1 and I planted the seeds outside at the beginning of May (probably too soon?). I can't seem to find information that says this is a female-only variety and it seems that the usually problem is one of too many male flowers instead. Has anyone come across the problem of all-female flowers? This is my first year in trying to grow my own veg (all in containters) and it seems a shame to see so many baby cucumbers withering away.
Any advice would be appreciated! Here's a picture, too:
0
Posts
Thanks for the clarification, pansyface! It's good to know that I have a female variety.
Does the fact that the baby cucumbers are withering away indicate some underlying problem, or is it normal while the plants are still fairly young?
No expert here but I know that GH cucumbers can do that if they are over watered and lack ventilation, or have big cumbers on that haven't been picked. Ventilation not a problem in your case chocomog as they are outside, are they getting too wet ?
I'll move this thread back up so someone else who grows them outside might be able to help you.
I too had a problem with crystal lemon- mine had loads of flowers but no fruit. On the advice on someone here, I set about with a paint brush to hand pollinate. It seems to have worked and I now have some cues. I had no idea which were male or female...
Hi everyone! Thanks for all the advice. I think I got a bit enthusiastic with watering the cuc's - I wasn't measuring how much i'd be putting in with the hose, but I'd water them every evening regardless of how wet the soil was. Gah!
I'll ease up on the watering and see how they get on!
Update: They're growing! Ahhh. Already eaten one and tastes fab.
Just a quick question on the flowers: I've noticed some male flowers are beginning to grow. Should I leave them be? The RHS website says that if I'm growing outdoors that they should stay, though as someone has already mentioned in the thread, they might make the cukes bitter.