Female cucumber flowers....

[grapenut2457]

Has anyone else had problems with cucumber plants developing female flowers? I have had nothing but male flowers growing for 10-14 days now with no sign of females. I am container gardening. Is it because of heat stress or perhaps an excess of nitrogen from over zealous use of nutrients? I know there is a bit of a lag time between appearance of males to the onset of females but this is getting to be a concern....we have pickles to make!

 

[myke]

Container too small?Rootbound.Overwatering?Or just give it time.My first ones showed about 2 weeks ago.I still get 95% male flowers.Heat i think is over 90 f they dont like.

 

[xtsho]

Many cucumber varieties produce more male than female flowers with the male flowers forming earlier than female flowers. Higher temperatures can also cause more male flowers.

 

[grapenut2457]

It has been very hot in my area the past 4 weeks for sure....highs of 31c quite often.

 

[Poontanger]

Ok... Just about all vegetable crops that grow on a Vine,,ie cucumber pumpkin melons, produce most of their female flowers on laterals,, especially pumpkins,, so what you have to do is snip The end out of the runners which will create laterals and produce female flowers,, if your main runners 3 foot long don't be scared to cut a foot off each of them

 

[waterproof808]

Ok... Just about all vegetable crops that grow on a Vine,,ie cucumber pumpkin melons, produce most of their female flowers on laterals,, especially pumpkins,, so what you have to do is snip The end out of the runners which will create laterals and produce female flowers,, if your main runners 3 foot long don't be scared to cut a foot off each of them

I'm going to try this with some of my kajari melons. Earlier this summer I had planted some mini Otome watermelons and I only got one melon per vine.

 

[Poontanger]

Yes because there was no laterals

 

[Poontanger]

About 25 years ago I listen to a talk back radio garden show,, a bloke rang in and spoke about his local churches largest Queensland blue pumpkin competition,,why aren't I getting any pumpkins on my Vine but they are full of male flowers,,, answer.... Because you only have runners,,, not laterals where the female flowers are,,,, I have followed this rule, from passion fruit to cucumber 2 pumpkin to watermelon,,, and always had success

 

[Poontanger]

But, let your grow Vines grow for a few months before giving them the chop,, or if you see one runner really escalating take his head off

 

[myke]

Ok... Just about all vegetable crops that grow on a Vine,,ie cucumber pumpkin melons, produce most of their female flowers on laterals,, especially pumpkins,, so what you have to do is snip The end out of the runners which will create laterals and produce female flowers,, if your main runners 3 foot long don't be scared to cut a foot off each of them

So your saying cut the main stem on cucumbers? Then you’ll get laterals?then cut those also? I’m confused what is a lateral and what is a runner?

 

[waterproof808]

I'm getting conflicting info online about this. Cucumber farmers are saying to pinch off the lateral/sucker branches and just leave the main stem.

 

[Poontanger]

There are some varieties of cucumber that naturally bushy like this lemon cucumber pictured, these don't need any attention, but the right is like the long green, or the American rattlesnake cucumber, you need to have their runners nipped, so as to make them more bushy or create laterals,

 

[Poontanger]

So your saying cut the main stem on cucumbers? Then you’ll get laterals?then cut those also? I’m confused what is a lateral and what is a runner?
[/QUO a runner is the first lot of growth, and if you let it go it will just keep going and going and going, once you cut that let's say on a pumpkin when it is about 3 or 4 ft long you will get side shoots called laterals, the laterals will produce the majority of your female flowers, they do not need to be trend

 

[Poontanger]

It is a bit like topping your canna plants, what happens then ?

 

[myke]

Still confused. I understand not to top or cut the main stem. Remove all other side shoots. So opposite what you do on cannabis.