So, your trellis is covered in cucumber vines with big, beautiful leaves, and striking yellow flowers but no cucumbers… huh?
Despite the popular saying, naturedoesn’talways find a way… so if your cucumber flowers are going unpollinated, it might be time to give nature ahelping hand.
How Pollination Works in Cucumbers
Cucumber plants are self-pollinating… so they’ll just work it out themselves, right? Well, not exactly. The term ‘self-pollinating’ means a plant has both male and female flowers, so only one plant is needed to produce fruit. However, they still need some third-partyassistanceto make the magic happen.
Usually, nature’s most valuable helpers—bees, do most of the pollinating. By going from one flower to the next, they distribute pollen from the male flowers into the female ones, leading to the production of fruit. However, there area lotof plants/flowers bees prefer over cucumber vines. So, you might find that while the bees are busy, your cucumber plants are going unpollinated. No worries,hand-pollinationis super easy.
The first step to hand-pollination is knowing the difference between male and female cucumber flowers. Both flowers are yellow and look similar, but there are a few tell-tale differences between them.
Commonly, male flowers will grow in clusters, whereas female flowers will be more spaced apart. But the easiest difference to spot, lies in the tissue behind the flower itself. Females have a thicker ‘base’, which almost looks like a tiny, baby cucumber. This is what will eventually turn into fruit. The males, however, have only a thin stem behind the flower. Note that it is possible toonlyhave male flowers on your vine. If this is the case, wait a few weeks, and the female flowers will eventually emerge.
How to Hand Pollinate
Okay, so now you know the difference between the flowers on your vine, here comes the good part. Grab a paintbrush or a cotton swab (make sure it’s clean!). Find a new, fresh, male flower, and dip the tip of your brush inside. Gently twist, ensuring the bristles come in contact with the centre of the flower. Once you remove your bush, you should see little specs of yellow pollen at the end. Repeat this process on a few male flowers, then twist your coated brush into the centre of a female flower. Repeat again as necessary, until you’ve touched every female flower on your vine. That’s it! In a few short weeks, the ‘base’ of each female flower will expand and the flower itself will die back. And in no time at all, you’ll be enjoying juicy,home-growncucumbers, yum!
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Grab a paintbrush or a cotton swab (make sure it's clean!). Find a new, fresh, male flower, and dip the tip of your brush inside. Gently twist, ensuring the bristles come in contact with the centre of the flower. Once you remove your bush, you should see little specs of yellow pollen at the end.
Cucumber flowers are not very attractive to native bees, so honey bees are the most important pollinator in commercial pickling cucumber fields, accounting for 98% of bee visits to cucumber flowers. Honey bees visit flowers for two reasons: pollen for protein, and nectar for carbohydrates.
The biggest drawback of hand pollination is the labor intensity that goes into it. Many laborers are needed, and this is not financially feasible for many farms.
This is the female flower on a cucumber plant. See the immature fruit at the base, a clear indication of a female flower. This one has probably already been pollinated and the flower is starting to close.
Both must be flowering at the same time for a cucumber to form. Bees and other insects will usually pollinate the female plant. If you have both types of flowers and you are still not getting fruit then there are no pollinators around and you can step in and be a pollinator.
Cucumber plants are self-pollinating… so they'll just work it out themselves, right? Well, not exactly. The term 'self-pollinating' means a plant has both male and female flowers, so only one plant is needed to produce fruit. However, they still need some third-party assistance to make the magic happen.
Most cucumber varieties are monoecious with unisexual flowers—have separate male and female flowers within the same individual— and thus require animal pollination for reproduction. However, some varieties are mostly or totally gynoecious (produce only female flowers) and can produce fruit through parthenocarpy.
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Introduction: My name is Roderick King, I am a cute, splendid, excited, perfect, gentle, funny, vivacious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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