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Too late for cucumbers?
Mynx
Posts: 101
in Fruit & veg
Hi all, I have three cucumber plants that have only produced male flowers so far. I understand that the female flowers normally come two weeks after the males, so is it too late in the season for any fruit to grow? As soon as the female flowers arrive I will try my hand at pollination, but is it worth waiting? Thanks all 
0
Posts
You've got plants that are already producing male flowers - the female ones will be along shortly - it's worth waiting ... what've you got to lose?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Pick the males off. Pollinated greenhouse cucumbers are bitter.
Thanks Dove and Fidget, but if I pick the males off, how will the females be pollinated? Don't they need pollination in order to produce the fruit? I know bees normally do this, but there has been a distinct lack of bees around lately which is why I thought maybe I should try it myself as soon as the female flowers arrive... have I got this totally wrong lol!!
Not trying to play devils advocate, but they often say not to remove the male flowers. I grow greenhouse cucumbers outside on the allotment and don't have any problems. I would recommend googling the variety you've got to see what it says about removal of male flowers.