Female Flowers Dying on Pumpkins!

20 years ago

I have 3 Pumpkin plants. Hundreds of Male flowers very few female flowers. Each one of the females opens early in the morning, then closes them late morning, then the little pumpkin turns yellow and dies.

My goal was to have a pumpkin by end of October but I see that isn't going to happen now. I wonder if I'll have any at all!

My question is: Why are they dying off? I tried to self pollinate them but that didn't work either.

I planted the seed in Feb, then outside in April and the plants are very helthy. Big green leaves and about 15ft sprawled on the ground.

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Comments (4)

elder
20 years ago
I have two AG vines and two Big Moon vines - the AG vines are reacting like your pumpkin plants, the female flowers will not set, and there are very few of them to start with. The Big Moon vines both have pumpkins. I have been told that the AG vines were probably affected by the heat. I did notice that several little pumpkins on the BM vines aborted a couple of days after our triple digit heat wave.
Also, one of the BM vines did not set until I gave it a shot of high phosphate Super Bloom. I tried this with the AG vines, it didn't do any good.....Elder (Lou)
justeen_bonsai
20 years ago
I also have a pumpkin vine, but my female flowers aren't even opening before they fall off! They just turn yellow, get black at the tip, and fall off! I did have a chance for a pumpkin earlier, but the vine died off prematurely.=(
So now, I have a pumpkin about the size pf an egg!
I ordered Atlantic Giant pumpkin seeds (they said I'd get 6, but I got 10!) a couple of months ago, and I'm storing them in the freezer until next year. Have any suggestions for me? I've gathered a lot of information, but I'm afraid I'll blow it!
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elder
20 years ago
Well, one of my AG vines actually set a pumpkin this past week, and similar to last year, this late pumpkin set on the surviving portion of the vine which was climbing along the top of a wire fence. Obviously not much time for a big one, AGAIN!!!
Is it the heat (VA is hot in the summer)? I noticed that many of he larger pumpkins seem to come from more northern areas, however I always attributed this to the extra daylight hours, maybe it also is a combination with cooler nights? Last week our nights started dipping into the lower sixties, and POW, a pumpkin set
Next year (hope blooms eternal) I'm going to start my plants inside and get them out by the end of April. Damn the experts!!!.....Elder
kryptonite_har_hotmail_com
15 years ago
This sounds drastic and I came across this on accident. After having 5 vines over 15 feet long and no pumpkins set on I noticed the female flowers shriveling up before opening. When you identify the next female flower on the vine CUT the vine just beyond the female flower. Within two days those flowers opened, were then pollinated and now I have pumpkins.