If you have planted Cucurbita pepo in your garden for the first prison term , the appearing of peak may take you by surprise . However , like most plants , pumpkins take male and female blossom to cross-pollinate .
When Do Pumpkin Flowers Appear?
About 8 - 10 weeks after planting your pumpkin seeds , you should see yellowish flowers begin to seem on thevines . Within a few days of their first appearance , the heyday to the full open . They are star - shape blossom with five distinguishable points .
The first set of blooms on the vine are always the manful bloom , and there are usually a big issue of them . Do not be alarmed when they open one morning and are gone the next ! New male bloom will bloom just in clip to pollinate the female flowers .
Identifying Female Pumpkin Flowers
If you are paying nigh attention to your pumpkin plants , you will notice a proliferation of male flowers and no female . This is normal ; the female flowers start to blossom around two workweek after the Male .
Once the distaff Cucurbita pepo flush peak , you should be able to see a distinct dispute in the two of them . The males have a little stamen in the centre of the bloom that sticks straight up and is covered with pollen . The female flower , on the other hand , has a small group of stamens call a stigma .
The female pumpkin blossom also arise close to the vine and have a small pea plant - sizedballdirectly under it , between the vine and the flower . This small nodule will eventually be a pumpkin .
Pollinating Pumpkin Flowers
Female pumpkin blossom are commonly pollinated by bee carrying pollen from the male bloom to the female flower . However , if you desire to be certain of a successfulharvestyou may choose to pollinate the flowers by hand .
The tools you will call for for manus - pollinating are simple ones you should already have :
Tip : The magnifying deoxyephedrine is not a necessity ; instead , it just make it easier to see what you are doing .
To hand pollinate , gently brush the cotton fiber swob over the manlike stamen and collect pollen on it . Then , channelize the pollen to the stain of the female flower .
Identifying Successful Pollination
Once you have pollenate the distaff pumpkin flower , it will shut up and vanish . If pollination has been successful , thegreenpea - sized ball at the foundation of the flower will begin to grow speedily . Within a few days , it will be exponentially bigger and undeniably a healthy pumpkin yield . In this way , whether you manus - pollinate or countenance nature to have her way , you’re able to tell apart if pollenation has occurred .
If pollination has been successful and the female pumpkin flowers grow yield , you may almost guarantee a plentiful pumpkin harvest .
